CEPS exceeds revenue target

THE Tema Collection of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) bagged ?610 billion in revenue last year, exceeding its target by ?88 billion, in spite of a considerable drop in imports.

It also collected over ?684 billion on behalf of the VAT Service and over ?52 billion for the inspection agencies.

Mr Fredua-Agyeman Boakye, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Tema Collection, announced this at an annual get-together and awards ceremony for outstanding officers of the service at Tema on Saturday.

Twelve officers were honoured for their remarkable performance last year. Mr Yaw Boakye Agyeman of the Face Vet Seat and Mrs Esther Amekudzi of the Detaching Seat were named as the best senior and junior officers respectively.

Two special awards were presented to Miss Monica Acquah, Public Relations Officer, and Mr Francis Adom of the Special Operations Unit for their dedication to duty.

Mr Boakye said to facilitate trade as required under the Gateway Project, the WTO Agreement on valuation resulting in the abolition of the commissioner's valuation list was introduced last year.

The Destination Inspection Scheme which replaced the pre-shipment scheme and the Customs Risk Management system, which reduced the level of physical examination, were also introduced.

Other measures introduced last year were the Scanner for scanning selected consignments, computerisation of the warehousing regime and decentralisation of transit/bond seats to various ports and stations.

Mr Boakye congratulated the officers for their performance and reminded them that with the wind of positive change blowing all over the country, they should put in collective efforts to iron out problems encountered in the past.

He also stressed the need to automate all processes and to strengthen the CEPS Post-Clearance Verification Unit to enable it to effectively monitor and evaluate the system.

Mr Boakye said in the past, the performance of CEPS was judged mainly on the import and excise duties it collected.

This trend should be reviewed to include CEPS role in the collection of Import, VAT, facilitation of transhipment trade and the numerous agencies on whose behalf CEPS performs duties, which cannot be easily quantified, he said.

Mr Sultan Malm, Deputy Commissioner of CEPS for Preventive, reminded CEPS personnel that the announcement that the national coffers are empty places more responsibility on the service, which collects over 50 per cent of national revenue, to reduce expenditure and maximise revenue collection.

Commenting on a recent survey which ranked CEPS as the second most corrupt institution in Ghana, Mr Malm urged his men to correct the image.

He asked them to also think of how best to pluck all loopholes and expose Custom House Agents involved in fraudulent deals so that CEPS will not be the focus of any group.

Mr Kofi Brako, President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), said the inability of CEPS to perform professionally is adversely affecting the work of clearing agents.

Mr Brako who was the chairman for the occasion, urged CEPS to bridge the communication gap between senior and junior officers and encourage wrongdoers to change, instead of sending them home at the least offence.