The Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has announced series of measures aimed at tightening its control over clearance procedures at the country’s main points of entry.
The controls, which include extending and increase in the powers of the CEPS officials to undertake oversight responsibility over the activities of Clearing Agents comes barely a week after CEPS announced that it has smashed the activities of a clearing syndicate engaged in the use of fictitious documents. Activities of the syndicate is alleged to have led to the loss of over ?180 million in a single deal to the state.
Assistant Commissioner of CEPS, in charge of the Tema Ports, Wilson Ankrah said greater supervision and monitoring of clearing agents would be intensified to outwit unscrupulous agents who would want to maximize profit and cheat the state.
According to the CEPS boss, the activities of the syndicate who use fake documents, stamps and forged signatures to clear goods has been discovered and assured the nation that the Service has repositioned itself to detect and arrest such situations before they get out of hand.
He however, asked the public to assist the Service in divulging information to prevent such situations from occurring. Wilson Ankrah suggested that clearing agents must be subjected to greater systems of accountability by submitting their accounts for vetting. This, he explained would enable CEPS and other agencies to trace and track corrupt practices.
He denied the assertion that additional control would create delays causing artificial congestions and impede the smooth clearing of goods from the ports.
He also disclosed that the Commissioner has allowed clearing of over-aged vehicles though the deadline has expired. He said so far over 60% of the 600 vehicles at the port at the time of the 30-day (September 30th) moratorium have been cleared.
