The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) says they will not comply with Government’s directive to implement the Cargo Tracking Note policy on Monday, 15th October, 2018.

According to them, the directive will collapse businesses.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, Dr. Joseph Obeng, President for GUTA explained that there have been various negotiations with the Vice President about the implementation of CTN, but they have not reached a conclusion.

"But for us as traders, we do not subscribe to the implementation of the CTN.

"We are asking the Vice President and government to rethink their decision to implement the CTN else they will face our wrath," he insisted.

Currently, there is a dip in government revenue because business men have stopped importing due to the high rate in duties and other charges.

He added that, if things should continue this way, there is going to be a further decline in revenue for government.

Background

Freight forwarders embarked on a strike from August 27, 2018 to protest against the implementation of the Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) system at the ports. The action was necessitated by what the businesses described as government’s failure to heed concerns on the policy which impedes trade facilitation.

The business associations that participated in the action included; the Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, the Association of Customs House Agents Ghana, Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana and the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana.

The CTN requires importers to provide real-time information on all consignments to Ghana to a global monitoring platform.

The cost which ranges between 100 and 200 dollars, is being borne by the GRA.

The implementation of the Cargo Tracking Note policy is expected to begin on Monday.

The policy, which was expected to be rolled out on September 1, 2018, has been postponed to October 15, 2018 after it was suspended by government for further deliberations.

The decision to postpone the commencement of the CTN is to allow for more consultation and sensitization of all stakeholders. It is also to address all the concerns that have been made by the trading communities before the new date of implementation.

The postponement, was arrived at after consultations with the implementing agency, the Ghana Revenue Authority and other stakeholders.

Source: peacefmonline.com