Government has suspended the implementation of the law that bans the importation of salvaged vehicles into the country.

The Customs Amendment Act, 2020, which was passed by Parliament in March 2020 and to be rolled out on November 1, 2020, was also to stop the importation of vehicles older than 10 years.

However, in an interview on an Accra-based radio station on Thursday, the Tema Regional Chairman of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Alex Asiamah revealed he had received information that Customs will continue clear such vehicles.

“So, the importers can go on with their business of importing such cars. So that’s the news at the moment. It is coming from the Ministry [of Finance], but through our sector commander, the Assistant Commander of Customs in Tema,” he said.

Mr Asiamah also believes that the agitation by industry players such as the Coalition of Car and Spare Parts Dealers Association of Ghana to an extent influenced government’s decision to suspend the law.

“You could remember that when the news came, importers or dealers in those cars were not happy about it and then it was even twisted in different directions to make it look like something odd."

He noted that the benefit of the suspension of the law for freight forwarders is that "we will continue to enjoy our business of providing such cars for our customers and when that one happens, it means we are going to continue to enjoy the service so it’s welcoming news,” he said.

Following the passage of the law, the opposition National Democratic Congress’ flagbearer, John Mahama promised to scrap the law should he be voted into power come December 7.

According to him, he would invest in the local automotive industry at Suame Magazine in Kumasi and Abossey Okai in Accra rather than collapse them.

He made the promise when the NDC launched its 2020 manifesto on Monday, September 7, 2020.