Destination inspection company Gateway Services Limited, a member of the Cotecna Inspection S.A group of Switzerland, has indentified false documentation, misinformation and lack of education on the appropriate modalities in importation on the part of importers as some of the factors that account for delays in the clearing of consignments at the country’s ports. But in a bid to tackle the situation, GSL, which is one of the five Destination Inspection Companies operating at the country’s ports, says it has pioneered the introduction of scanners to facilitate destination inspection. The company, formed in 1999 as a joint venture between Cotecna Inspection S.A and the Government of Ghana, and now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cotecna, is the first to introduce scanning services at the ports. The Corporate Services Manager of GSL, Amma Addo, made this known in an interview with Maxx Business at a forum organised for importers, agents, traders and other stakeholders in the shipping industry in Takoradi. The event was in partial fulfillment of the requirement for being certified per the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 standard. Mrs. Amma Addo said GSL was formed with the sole aim of providing Destination Inspection (DI) Services, after the Government had decided in April 2000, to move away from the then pre-shipment Inspection to Destination Inspection. She said the objective of reducing the volume of physical inspection to facilitate trade at the Ports, establish Ghana as the Gateway to the West African Sun-Region especially land-locked countries which use the ports of Takoradi and Tema as transit points for their imports are being realised. She said the Destination Inspection Scheme (DIC), has assisted Government to mobilize more revenue that it would have done previously, reduced considerably physical examination of goods and thereby reducing cost and time, reduced problems of under-invoicing and attendant socio-economic evils. She said GSL will carry out massive education for players in the shipping industry, particularly importers to offer satisfactory services at the Ports. According to her, the introduction of GSL’s own state-of-art X-ray Scanner, development and implementation of a Computerized Risk Management System (CRMS), a Price Verification and HS Code Clarification of Goods, the first ever high powered fixed X-ray 5 Me V Scanner and the introduction of a 3/6 MEV Dual Energy Mobile X-ray Scanner at the Tema Port in April 2011, the handling and inspection of cargo has been made easier. This she says has assisted the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) in addressing importer fraud and providing government a parallel system that permits it to monitor revenue officers. The Western Regional Manager of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) Mr. Ofori Kumah however noted that the system is faced with challenges such as Forgery of invoices, under-declaration of volume of goods, connivance of some stakeholders in manipulating documents resulting in revenue loss, and misclassification of items amongst others. He noted that these are being addressed with the inputs of all stakeholders supported by Government. GSL also used the forum to seek the views of importers for the necessary feedback to serve them better. Participants who spoke to Maxx Business were grateful for the education but urged GSL to make use of the positive suggestions from importers and agents.