The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, directed the Ghana Revenue Authority on Mar. 9 to immediately enforce new measures aimed at strengthening border controls and protecting government revenue.
The directive comes after a meeting between Dr. Forson, Acting Commissioner of Customs Mr. Aaron Akanor, and the management of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to review recent developments at Ghana’s borders.
Dr. Forson ordered an immediate ban on the land transit of nine categories of goods, requiring that these products be routed exclusively through Ghana’s seaports rather than entering or transiting via land borders. The affected products include cooking oil, rice, sugar, frozen products, textiles, flour, canned tomatoes, pasta or spaghetti, and pharmaceutical products.
According to Dr. Forson, this decision is part of efforts to tighten border controls and address recurring revenue leakages associated with the transit of these goods through land borders. He also directed the recentralisation of the Customs Technical Services Bureau to create a one-stop shop for valuation and improve intelligence sharing within Customs.
The minister said that enhancing data use and insights from the Publican AI system will strengthen Customs’ ability to detect irregularities and improve compliance. He emphasised that these measures are intended to strengthen enforcement at Ghana’s borders and safeguard government revenue.
Dr. Forson instructed all relevant departments within the Customs Division to ensure strict compliance with these directives immediately. Mr. Akanor said they will do their possible best not to let down the minister and the nation.