Tema Port has officially become a 24-hour operation, allowing importers to clear their goods even at 2 a.m., according to Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition, he said the GRA, working with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and other state agencies, has fully embraced President John Dramani Mahama’s flagship 24-hour economy program at the port.

“So the 24h+ is one of the key flagship programs that President John Mahama has launched, and it’s a program that is targeted at industrialisation, job creation, world creation, and ultimately domestic tax revenue.

At GRA, we see ourselves as a key constituent and partner in terms of the success of this program, so at the port, together, working with the Ghana port and harbours authority and other stakeholders, we have already embraced the 24-hour economy.”

He explained that although customs had been operating round-the-clock even before the official launch, the challenge had always been with other institutions that had to be present during clearance.

“For example, when somebody is bringing goods. You need a Standards Board to be there. You need the Food and Drugs Authority to be there. You need the EPA to be there.

"Not all these institutions were 24-hour ready, but we’ve worked with them, and we’ve positioned them such that all of these institutions are being hooked and automated into our customs icon platform, so that way all government institutions are then having access to the port operations under a 24-hour.”

Mr Sarpong noted that the vision of a single-window operation at the port was now closer to reality.

“We’ve always said that we want to have what we call the single window. That really means that all of us are working on one window at the same time.

"So, what we’ve done within the president's vision is to ensure that agencies that were not within the one window, we’ve brought them on board so that we can fully implement the 24 hours at the port. So as we speak today, the 24-hour program is in earnest, working at Tema Port.”

Responding to a direct question about whether an importer could clear goods at 2 a.m., he replied: “Yes, on Monday, as I told you before, before the launch, customs and GPHA were trained for our readiness. What we’ve also done is to bring all the other agencies in.

"And that is why, for us, in terms of the transfer, we did the Tema Port as a phase one in preparation to reinforce our men to be on the ground for the 24-hour projects. So as we speak today, Tema Port is operating 24 hours in terms of the clearing of goods.”

He added that the GRA had engaged shipping lines and banks to ensure a seamless process.

“We have had engagement also with other stakeholders, like the shipping lines. We have had engagement with the banks that collect the revenue.

"And you know, today, GRA, we already trained for as far as filing and paying taxes. It’s online, so you don’t need to if your goods are coming in. And today you can you can estimate the value of your duties two weeks before your goods arrive.

"And you can pay online, so you don’t need to walk to the port to pay. You can pay from your desk. Can pay from the comfort of your room. What you then need is the physical clearance, and that’s why we added that component at the port to make sure that it drives that operation.”

The GRA boss admitted that the rollout could face initial difficulties but stressed that the implementation of the president’s vision was already in full swing.

“Because the authority, or GRA, is a key component of the success of the twin fire economy, it needs to do this so that it facilitates trade and business activities.

"But obviously for any ne,w initiatives, sometimes there could be challenges. But as we speak today, we are actually implementing the president's vision of 24 hours at the port.”