By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Dec. 30, GNA – The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced the implementation of a reversal of discount on Free on Board (FOB) value on general goods, and the Home Delivery Value of vehicles, effective January 1, 2023.
The FOB value of exports and imports of goods is the value of the goods at the exporter’s customs frontier.
Mr Iddrisu Iddisah Seidu, the Acting Commissioner of the Customs Division of GRA, therefore, instructed sector commanders to ensure that copies of the Commissioner General’s Order on the reversal were made available to officers and other stakeholders.
In a memo available to the Ghana News Agency in Tema, dated December 22, 2022, Mr Seidu said: “Officers are advised to take note of the content of the Order and apply the provisions accordingly.”
“Any difficulties encountered in the application of the directives should be communicated to the Commissioner for clarification.”
The memo said the Reverend Dr Ammishadai Owusu Amoah, GRA Commissioner, on December 15, 2022, issued the order of the reversal in accordance with the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for 2023.
This follows the revision of the government’s policy on discounts on import values to the status quo ante before the introduction of the discounts on April 4, 2019.
The discount was revised to zero per cent on vehicles and other goods, instead of the prevailing 10 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.
The memo said a transitional arrangement provided a storage-free period for consignments discharged on December 31, 2022, for going through clearance without being affected by the reversal policy.
The order indicated that all pre-arrival declarations processed and tax paid even when the goods have not arrived before January 1, 2023, shall not be affected by the reversal policy.
It stated that per Section 48 of the Customs ACT 2015, (Act 891); the criteria for the implementation of the discount reversal in the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) is based on the validation of the bill of entry (BOE) and tax bill payment date.
“Any BOE that has been processed and tax bill duly paid before the effective date of the policy, will not be affected, and BOE with tax bill duly paid before the effective date, but undergoing a post entry without any change affecting tax amount paid, will not be affected,” it said.
It further stated that any BOE that had been assessed and/or accepted but tax bill not paid before the effective date would undergo reprocessing for the complete reversal of the discount earlier applied to the value(s).
“For the avoidance of any doubt, the values to be used or applied in the assessment of duties shall be the full (hundred per cent) and devoid of any reduction in values (10 per cent for vehicles and 30 per cent for all other goods).”
“The status quo as of April 4, 2019, shall be restored in respect of all items with effect from January 1, 2023.”
GNA