Wa Customs commander urges buyers to check car status before making financial commitment

The Wa Sector Commander of the Customs Division of the GRA, Henry Ayinemi Atampugbire has restated the importance for people intending to buy vehicles to first check with Customs Division before making any financial commitment. 

He intimated that checking from the nearest Customs Division Office will spare potential vehicle buyers the ordeal of procuring vehicles that had not been properly imported into the country.  

Chief Revenue Officer Atampugbire made the observation at a sensitization seminar on the 2017 Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) Code at Wa in the Upper West Region. 

The Wa Sector Commander of the Customs Division of the GRA said some people who take advantage of the ECOWAS protocol which facilitate the free movement of goods and services as well as persons in the ECOWAS sub-region end up abusing the system under the temporary importation regime. 

Mr. Atampugbire stated that verification process takes about 15 minutes and encouraged the public to cooperate with the Customs Division of GRA to prevent them from falling prey to individuals or syndicates that sell un-customed vehicles to unsuspecting buyers.  

A Principal Revenue Officer of Customs Division of the GRA, Kenneth Kwaku Baye whose presentation was titled “Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) 2017 Version” said HS came into force on 1st January 1988 with 5017 HS Codes. 

He told the seminar that HS is revised every five years. 

A report by GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo says after 1988, there had been six revisions or amendments which were in 1992, 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012 with the latest being that of 2017 with 233 sets of amendments and 5367 HS codes. 

Touching on the structure of the Harmonized System (HS), Mr. Baye indicated that it include the General Interpretative Rule (GIR), Sections, Chapters, Headings and Notes. 

The Principal Revenue Officer of Customs Division of the GRA continued that the headings are arranged in a sequential order and some are subdivided. 

He pointed out that there are 21 sections and 97 chapters, saying chapter 77 is reserved whilst 96 chapters are active. 

Some of the reasons for HS amendments include, technological progress, trade patterns, clarification of texts to ensure uniform application of the HS, adaptation of nomenclature to reflect trade practice and reinforce the multipurpose nature of the nomenclature. 

A Senior Revenue Officer of Customs Division of the GRA, Richard Quayson stressed the need for all parties to religiously commit themselves to make the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) a success. 

He continued that “we should make sure that the collection of Mille Franc here, Mille Franc there becomes a thing of the past.” 

Mr. Quayson took the participants through the stages of integration of ECOWAS adding that the bloc has been in a Free Trade Area stage since its formation in 1975. 

ECOWAS entered the Customs Union stage on 1st January, 2015 with the implementation of the CET but, Ghana started the implementation of CET on 1st February 2016.

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