ICUMS helps government to exceed revenue target in August and November

Mr Emmanuel Ohene, the Chairman of the Implementation Team of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), says the government has exceeded its revenue target in August and November, 2020 from the ports.

He attributed the development to the introduction of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

Mr Ohene, who is also the Assistant Commissioner of Customs in charge of the Accra Sector Command, said the feat was achieved despite the negative impact of the coronavirus on the global shipping business.

He said an amount of GH¢1.2 billion was realized monthly since the introduction of ICUMS.

"Tema collection in this month of November has exceeded its target. In August, ICUMS was responsible for the revenue target being exceeded," he said.

Mr Ohene said ICUMS was successfully integrated with the Drivers Vehicle Licensing Authority nationwide, despite the difficulties associated with acquiring historical data.

He said ICUMS provided more than 7,000 tracking devices for the monitoring of transit cargo, leading to a stop on attachment of temporary escorts on transit cargoes.

Mr Ohene said the second phase of ICUMS was expected to be done by the first quarter of 2021.

He urged the trading public to exercise patience while the minor challenges of the Integrated Customs Management that had prevented users from experiencing the full benefits were fixed.

The Assistant Commissioner said the Integrated Customs Management system had its checks and balances on supervising officers at the various points of operations in the system ensuring that no undue delays come up as a result of officers' bad behaviours.

"There's a performance management system in the ICUMS which monitors how long one keeps a declaration," he added.