The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disclosed that the government will, from January 2023, restrict the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority from granting customs advancement rulings and other discretionary rulings regarding the importation of goods.
This follows investigations by the OSP into a customs advance ruling to the tune of GHC 1,074,627.15 allegedly granted in favour of Labianca Limited, an entity belonging to a Council of Statement member, Eunice Asomah-Hinneh.
The OSP revealed in a statement on Thursday that “following its investigations and interventions at the Customs Division, the Government has reversed the discretionary discount on the free on board (FOB) value of goods and the home delivery value (HDV) of vehicles effective January 1, 2023.”
The new policy effectively eliminates all avenues for officers of the Customs Division to grant discretionary markdowns and removes opportunities for corruption and corruption-related activities, according to the statement.
BACKGROUND
On August 8th, the OSP charged Labianca Limited with corruption and influence peddling, resulting in a write-down of GHC 1.07 million in customs tax liabilities, which the company has already paid to the OSP.
The findings of the OSP on the company were challenged by the former Commissioner of Customs, Col (Rtd.) Kwadwo Damoah, and the Chamber of Freight and Trade.
According to them, the customs advance ruling, which obtains legal backing under the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891), has been in practice since its existence, and the allegations of corruption and influence peddling are far-fetched.
