IMPORT PROCEDURES IN GHANA

Hello Folks.
If you are new to shipping activities in Ghana, then i guess you might be oblivious to these complicated and lengthy importation process outlined. This blog is purposely directed to guide those who would want to trade with Ghana on the international front. THE MANDATORY PROCEDURES ARE AS FOLLOWS

FIRSTLY, REGISTER YOUR COMPANY
A firm in Ghana willing to bring in goods from abroad must be registered within the laws of our country and acquire a tax clearance certificate from theirs and also a TIN(Tax Identification Number) from the GRA(Ghana revenue Authority). In the acquisition of TIN, you should also apply as an importer at gcnet.com and submit the form at the nearest Ghana customs exercise and preventive service.

HIRE A CLEARING AGENT AND OBTAIN A MARINE INSURANCE
This process is in conformance to customs Act 2015 Act 891 section 43. It is important to acquire a trade insurance to protect the goods from damage whiles being transported from its origin to destination.

REGISTER FOR GHANA SINGLE WINDOW
Basically this platform serves as a medium of communication between the logistics community and the GoG (Government Of Ghana). This system functions multi-purposely and has about four different activities integrated into a consolidated.
(1) GCNet eMDA Portal, for documentation purposes.
(2) GICCS (Ghana integrated cargo clearance systems) for cargo tracking.
(3) e Tax portal for management of tax related issues.
(4) e Registrar Portal, where you are able to register legal entities.
This program integrates and synchronizes multiple activities into a single function.

APPLY A UNIQUE CONSIGNMENT REFERENCE.
This is a unique electronic number used to identify import in Ghana. This is the most important part and as such you should acquire it once you execute the sales contract with the supplier

BEGIN THE MDA PROCESS
MDA Stands for ministries and departments and agencies.
why is this important? well, certain goods are regulated by the government of Ghana . As such if one wants to import goods, he has to undergo this process to ascertain if the inbound goods fall under those categories and if so , a special permit must be acquired. After that you pay your e-permit fees and a copy of the document is sent to customs

FILL OUT AND SUBMIT AN E-IMPORT DECLARATION FORM.
Through the Ghana single window, you submit an import declaration form to ministry of trade and industry. This declares the intent of your shipment and can also be recognized as input document to open a letter of credit to pay for goods

PRE-ARRIVAL ASSESSMENT REPORTING SYSTEM
The paars is commenced after the submission of the eIDF. After this, a copy of the form will be directed automatically to paars in order for CCVR(Customs classification and valuation report) to be assessed on the goods.This determines the duty payable on the cargo

OBTAIN A CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY
This is to attest to the qualitative standards of goods being imported into the country. This demonstrated the shippers compliance to relevant standards to prevent unsafe and inferior goods. This step must be completed at the port of origin to validate the quality of the goods

CUSTOMS CLEARANCE PROCESS
This is the final phase of importation where pre-clearnce process have been dealt with and a submission of BoE is received by customs. This is to confirm that the goods that have landed in Ghana are of the for-mentioned nature quality and value. This process comes along with a risk level being assigned to the goods based on the BoE details.
How quick you get the goods cleared depends on the level of risk assigned to the goods. Customs undertake long compliance check of BoEs assigned high risk. Upon completion, a message will be sent to the terminal operator that you have satisfied all the processes and as such should be allowed take away cargo.

Although much has been done to minimized human faces in the port activities of ghana, the trouble of corruption still persist which has a detrimental impact on national revenue and also delays cargo clearance processes.

@boristy and thanks for your time
You can leave your thoughts in the comments below and also contact me for your shipment needs to and from ghana on 0303214220 or [email protected]