The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, has directed a ban on the land transit of essential products, including rice, spaghetti, cooking oil, sugar, and five other items aimed to combat tax revenue invasion.
This decision follows a meeting between the minister, the acting Commissioner of Customs, Mr Aaron Akanor, and the management of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to discuss recent developments at Ghana’s borders and to implement decisive measures for revenue protection.
During the meeting, the minister emphasised that these goods must now be exclusively routed through Ghana’s seaports, with transit through land borders no longer permitted.
He highlighted on his Facebook page that the directive aims to tackle revenue evasion effectively.
The minister further directed recentralisation of the Customs Technical Service Bureau (CTSB) to establish a one-stop shop for valuation and enhance intelligence-sharing, particularly insights generated by the Publican Artificial Intelligence (AI) system.
“These measures are intended to strengthen border controls, close revenue leakages and safeguard government revenue,” he stated.
Ato Forson also instructed all relevant departments and units within the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to ensure strict compliance with these directives.
“Accordingly, I have directed all relevant departments and units within the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to ensure strict compliance with these directives,” he reiterated.
Source: Vanessa Elizabeth Nkum
