Senior Revenue Officer at the Office of the Systems Administrator at Tema Collection, Dennis Kese Antwi-Asante, has explained the normal procedures involved in clearing goods through Ghana’s customs system, highlighting the roles of importers, customs officials and clearing agents.

Speaking on JoyFM Super Morning Show on Tuesday, August 25, he said the process begins with the importer declaring the goods and providing the necessary supporting documents to Customs.

He explained that Customs then processes the declaration and generates an assessment based on the applicable duties and taxes.

“Customs does the vetting of the document, and assessment is the calculation of the duties and taxes,” he explained.

Mr Antwi-Asante noted that customs transactions are generally conducted through licensed agents or freight forwarders acting on behalf of importers.

He further explained that the declaration submitted by an agent is known as a bill of entry. The bill of entry goes through Customs for vetting, after which an assessment is generated.

According to him, the agent representing the importer has the opportunity to either accept or decline the assessment generated by Customs, depending on the circumstances of the declaration.

He stressed that proper documentation and adherence to the prescribed customs procedures are essential to ensuring a smooth clearance process.