We don't owe CEPS any import duty - Companies

Accra, Sept 29, GNA- The Continental Commodity and Trading Company (CCTC), a private warehousing company, on Friday said it never violated any bonded warehouse rules.

It said it would therefore protest against the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) demand notice for an import duty arrears of 2.6 million Ghana cedis, which it received from the Commissioner of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service on September 25, 2007 with a one-week ultimatum to settle the said arrears. Mr Edmund Nabil Moukarzel, Managing Director of the Company, said in an evidence before the Committee Investigating Operational Malpractices sitting in Accra.

He said that although it was right that records from the CEPS showed some goods, which were warehoused at the CCTC, was paid after the two years period had expired.

He said however that, that was not as a result of deliberately delaying, or evading the import duties and taxes. The company dealt in rice and sugar, and the Managing Director, said no good moved out of the warehouse without the import duties and other taxes paid on them.

Evidence before the Committee had it that records from Ghana Community Network had shown that the CCTC was among some companies that were in arrears of import duties from 2003 to 2007, although the goods had been taken out of the CCTC warehouse.

Under the Customs warehousing provisions, import duties are to be paid within two years, or are to be re-warehoused.

Mr Moukarzel said CCTC warehouses were full in 2003, and the company had to store its goods in the port warehouse, and later in private warehouses at rented places, run by independent operators in Tema.

He said although the goods were the property of the CCTC, the company did not have the keys to the warehouses and could not control how goods moved from there. " My Lord anything could happen. "In 2003, we had 60,000 bags on storage, and we paid for more than 59,000 bags within that year" Mr Moukarzel, said, adding that the CCTC shared the private warehouses with other companies and there could be mistakes done by these other companies.

According to the Witness, the company took measures to pay when Post Event Surveys indicated there were arrears.

Mr Moukarzel stated that the demand notice letter from the Commissioner of CEPS, dated September 25, 2007, was for goods that were still warehoused, adding that the company had not contravened the bonded warehouse system, since the goods kept in the warehouse in 2006, had not gone the stipulated two years.

He said the CCTC would be protesting against the demand notice as well as another CEPS claim for 6400 Ghana cedis in respect of Dry Foods another company for which he was the director.

He said that amount had already been paid, and a major part of another duty of 30468 Ghana cedis in respect of some frozen foods, part of which were ice-cream which were rather destroyed had already been paid leaving just about 12,000 Ghana cedis to be paid. He explained further that another good that to have been ex-warehoused was semolina which were taken but only for processing into pasta, and then re-warehoused, adding that that arrangement had already been agreed upon with Customs.

"There is very little outstanding duty to be paid by Dry Foods" Mr Moukarzel said.

In respect of the arrears from Sucatrade, Mr Moukarzel said the goods are still in the warehouse, and stated that the figures given in evidence were unbelievable.

Mr Moukarzel alleged that the demand notice had been influenced by media reports that the Company was in arrears of import duty taxes. He registered his strong protest to the Committee over the said notice, which was first communicated to him on his first appearance at the Committee's sitting, and later at his office. He applauded the Committee for its work, and praised hospitable business environment in Ghana, which he said had been the reason for basing in Ghana.

Mr Moukarzel however exposed the threat of smuggling, it posed much more threat to local marketing efforts and much more revenue was lost through it.

He advocated improved service conditions and better equipment for personnel of the Customs Service to motivate them to better discharge their services.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Justice Samuel Glenn Baddoo, said the Committee realised CCTC, was doing a great job but added that the whole system of operations went on the Ghana Community Network (GCNet). The CCTC and its subsidiary companies employ more than 2000 people, and fulfil other socially responsible functions.

Mr Justice Baddoo added that added that the Committee would recommend that all entry points were hooked to the GCNet, to reduce human errors in customs transactions, adding that there was the political will to tackle to protect investments.

In a related development, Mr Rami El-Ashkar, Managing Director of Mansell Limited had told the Committees that the Company did not owe any import duty arrears as revealed by the investigation of the Committee. The Company which deals in the importation and selling of sugar what was said to import duty debt of 275,000 Ghana cedis, but documents showed to the Committee by Managing Director indicated that import duty on the goods which were re-routed from the Tema Port to Takordi Port had already been paid for.

The error was blamed on double entry.