The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority is warning clearing agents at the ports to desist from the use of false documents with the aim of helping importers to evade custom duty at the port.
The warning follows an intelligence in February 2023 on some two companies and importers that had falsified trade documents on their bills of lading in clearing goods from the Tema Port.
Commissioner for Customs, Alhaji Idrisu Seidu Iddisa, warned that persons involved in such practices shall be made to face the law.
“It was revealed that some agents processes customs declarations with inaccurate particulars with the aim of paying lower Customs duty and taxes. The agent consequently provided cloned customs declarations (Flying Entry) containing actual description of the goods, the actual customs value, duty rates and collected the amount payable from the importer and provided fake description of goods, values which attracted lower duties to customs”.
The Commissioner of Customs pointed out that the bills of lading from the shipping lines and invoices declared to Customs were falsified by the local shipping line.
“Whiles demand notices have been issued for retrieving the taxes and penalties lost to the state, investigations are ongoing which may lead to prosecution” he added..
The Commissioner also hinted that investigations are being expanded to ‘fish out’ all who may be part of such syndicates for the necessary sanctions to be applied.