The Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) has announced that importers who were charged a $1000 Emergency Conflict Surcharge on cargo shipments will receive refunds after investigations revealed the fee was triggered by an automated billing error.
The surcharge was applied by global shipping firms, including CMA-CGM, despite being imposed before the Middle East conflict escalated.
The investigation was prompted by social media reports that the GSA had introduced a new container fee, which the Authority quickly debunked as misinformation.
“Our investigations show that there was a global announcement to all CMA-CGM shipping agencies to invoke the War Clause Surcharge in their list of charges.
“The shipping lines use a shared center where invoices are generated globally. The shared center automated the system to generate the currently disputed cost line,” CEO of the Authority, Prof. Ransford Gyampoh stated.
Prof. Gyampo further explained that a global directive was issued to CMA-CGM shipping agencies to activate a war-risk clause surcharge, but the shared global billing center automated the system to generate the disputed cost line in error.
“This anomaly is at the moment being corrected and all who have been surcharged would receive a refund from the shipping line,” Gyampo said.
