US$4,800 for a US$2,000 car: Importer laments high port fees

In the past few months, Ghanaians have decried the cost of clearing goods at the ports.

In various social media posts, users have shared the amounts they have had to pay in order to clear their goods, especially cars.

One user shared in April that he had to pay 21 taxes at the ports before clearing his goods.

Some of the 21 taxes include Import Duty, Import VAT, Processing Fee, ECOWAS levy, Network Charge, Network Charge VAT, Network Charge COVID-19 Health, Ghana Shippers Authority SNF fee, Import NHIL, Network Charge NHIL, IRS Tax deposit, GHS disinfection fee, MoTIe e-IDF fee, Special Import Levy, Ghana Export-Import bank (EXIM) and money more.

In a similar fashion, another social media user has also shared a video lamenting that upon inquiries he found that he would have to pay $4800 to clear a car he bought for $2000 abroad at the Tema Harbour.

He said: “I bought a Ford Fiesta for $2000 and then I contacted an agent and asked how much it would cost for it to be shipped to Ghana and he said $1000. And then I contacted another agent at Tema Harbour to check how much it will cost to clear it from the ports. He said it would cost $4800.”

This has sparked several reactions on social media over the outrageous nature of the taxes being demanded at the ports.

GhanaWeb Business sources have revealed that in an attempt to dodge these taxes, traders are seeking other means of importing items into the country.

SSD/NOQ



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