The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has vehemently denied any suggestion that import tariffs are determined using US currency.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show monitored by Puretvonline.com on Wednesday, May 15, Eric Boateng, the president of the Automobile Dealers Union, voiced his worries about the effect of levies, especially those levied in dollars, on the operations of used car importers in Ghana.
However, the GRA called the claims that duties were calculated in dollars “misleading” and asked the public to disregard them in a statement that was made public on Friday, May 17.
“It is false and misleading to say that GRA computes duties in foreign currencies. The Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) specifies the foundation for determining duties.
The GRA reaffirmed that taxes and duties are quoted in Cedis rather than foreign currencies.
The current exchange rate used by the Bank of Ghana is then used to convert the CIF value into Ghana cedis. The item’s duty and additional tax rates are then computed in Ghana cedis. According to GRA, the duty and taxes are quoted in CEDIS rather than foreign money.
The Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) figures are stated in internationally convertible currencies, including dollars, euros, pounds sterling, and other currencies, according to the GRA’s further explanation.
“GRA would like to make the following clarification: the value of automobiles from the country of origin is the basis for computing duties and taxes. The foundation for calculating duty and taxes is the cost of the vehicles plus insurance and freight expenses.
“Internationally convertible currencies, including dollars, euros, pounds sterling, and other currencies, are quoted for the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) values.”