The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) have announced an indefinite suspension for implementing the revised fees and charges for registration of importers by the Ghana Standards Authority – the new fees and charges were expected to see the current charges go up by 20 percent.
This decision was arrived at after a stakeholders’ dialogue with players in the shipping and logistics community over the matter. Players in the sector complained that, on the back of the impact of COVID-19 on their operations, the implementation of revised fees and charges for the registration of importers by the Ghana Standards Authority would put them in a disadvantaged position and throw many out of business.
The meeting was held last week at the Ghana Shippers’ House in Accra and was attended by representatives from the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana (FFAG), Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, among others.
The deliberations ended successfully with an announcement by the Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Alex Dodoo, that his outfit will maintain the current fees and charges while continuing to explore avenues for consensus on the way forward. “No changes to the charges. The charges have been maintained,” he said, drawing applause from the stakeholders.
He informed the meeting of his organisation’s plan to introduce import certification for some categories of products such as lubricants, electricals, gas cylinders, among others. Implementation of the new fees and charges by the Ghana Standards Authority was to have commenced in January 2020, but has now been postponed indefinitely due to several factors – including the need for further stakeholder engagements and buy-in.
President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng, and other stakeholder representatives at the meeting appealed for a stay in the implementation of new charges. They mentioned the negative impact of COVID-19 on businesses and the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as key reasons for their position. They asked for time to enable them recover in their businesses before implementation of the new fees.
“We are not ready for this. We actually want this scrapped – but in the interest of revenue generation to help sustain the operation of the Standards’ Authority and others, we sought the indefinite suspension.
“If you ask me, with the difficulties now faced and uncertainties of the AfCFTA, let’s wait till next year. By the last quarter of this year, things will be clearer and we can have consensus on the matter; but for now, the business community needs support to survive the turbulence and not implementation of these new fees and charges,” Dr. Obeng said.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GSA, Benonita Bismarck, thanked the Ghana Standards Authority for understanding the shipping public’s plight and responding positively to their business concerns. The GSA, she said, will continue to engage stakeholders in order to ensure that the interest of shippers in Ghana are always protected and promoted.
She appealed to the Ghana Standards’ Authority to do enough public education and sensitisation before implementation of the import certification regime, to ensure that shippers do not suffer the payment of additional charges and other challenges due to inadequate information on compliance.
Last year, the Ghana Standards’ Authority reviewed its charge for clearing goods at the ports upward by 20 percent. The percentage increment was expected to take effect from January 1, 2021. The upward review of the fees and charges was to ensure clients are served better. Importers of all products would have been affected by this new adjustment.
The post GSA postpones implementation of revised importer registration fees indefinitely appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
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