Freight forwarders appeal for waivers on rent charges and demurrages over ICUMS challenges

Vendors at the Tema seaport want temporary waivers on all time-related costs in the clearance of goods due to operational challenges being encountered with the new Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

State-owned Daily Graphic newspaper reports that the freight forwarders are calling for a cancellation of warehouse rent charges and interest charges, as well as demurrages that may accrue to shipping lines effective June 1, 2020, when the ICUMS implementation took off.

“An Executive Member of the Association of Customs House Agents (ACHAG), Mr Phillip Badu-Mensah told Graphic Online at the port that, although some companies and self-declarants have been able to process new declarations, a larger number of individual importers and agents have challenges as the ICUMS has been rejecting their TIN,” the report indicated.

Despite concerted efforts by both Ghana Revenue Authority and Ghana Link to iron out the challenges being faced by freight forwarders with regards to clearing of goods at the Tema port through the ICUMS, the system is still fraught with challenges that are making the freight forwarding community unhappy.

Two days after the complete change over from the erstwhile Customs Management System deployed by GCNet in collaboration with West Blue Consulting, customs agents are still complaining about various bottlenecks they claim they are confronted with in using the new platform.

Norvan Acquah-Hayford, Public Relations Manager at Ghana Link has given the assurance that most clearing agents are getting their problems resolved quickly after they make their complaints.