37% of taxable imports bypassed direct duty payments - Ato Forson

The government has announced major reforms to Ghana’s customs system aimed at blocking loopholes that have allowed some importers to evade duties and divert goods into the domestic market.

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, speaking during the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, said customs procedures created to facilitate legitimate trade had increasingly been abused, resulting in revenue losses and unfair competition for local businesses.

He disclosed that between 2020 and 2025, 37% of taxable imports entered Ghana through the customs suspense framework, including warehousing, transit, temporary admissions and free zones, instead of going directly into home consumption, where duties are paid.

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“These procedures exist to facilitate legitimate trade. However, they have increasingly been exploited to evade duties and divert goods into the domestic market without paying a single cedi in taxes,” he told Parliament on July 23, 2026.

He said the practice had placed honest Ghanaian manufacturers at a disadvantage because they were competing with imported goods that entered the market through tax evasion.

“That is not fair competition. It is an unfair burden on every law-abiding Ghanaian business. It must end,” he added.

Under the proposed Customs Bill, the government will introduce strict time limits for goods kept in bonded warehouses: three months for perishable goods, six months for general goods and 12 months for raw materials.

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Re-warehousing will also be limited to six months to prevent prolonged storage arrangements.

The reforms will further require bonded warehouses to operate electronic inventory systems linked to Customs to enable real-time monitoring and strengthen audit controls.

DR/MA