The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has expressed concern over the rising incidence of fuel smuggling through the abuse of the export and re-export regimes.
To stem the abuse and prevent further loss of revenue, GRA said traders engaged in exporting and re-exporting of petroleum product are required to, from September 1, follow a series of guidelines for the documentation and removal of their respective consignments.
In an advertorial, GRA said an exporter shall “obtain an export licence from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in order to qualify to remove petroleum products for export/re-export from any storage depot in the country”.
Other guidelines issued include the following:
1. Apply to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to be registered as a self-declarant for the purposes of Customs Documentation.
2. Obtain a removal bond from an insurance company.
3. Report to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), with a copy of the signed bond and the export licence to commence loading.
4. The Temporary Vehicle Importation (TVI) declaration and payment receipt on all foreign-registered vehicles are to be submitted to the TOR Collection of the Customs Division, together with the collection order for the approval before loading.
5. Customs will seal the loaded Bulk Road Vehicles (BRV) after loading. Where an external agency has been contracted to seal the loaded trucks, their seal shall be an addition to the Customs seal.
6. The exporter shall prepare a declaration with the appropriate Customs Procedure Code on the consignment and send a copy to the Document Verification Officer (DVO) at the depot for processing.
7. The exporter shall obtain from Customs a hard copy of the details of all the trucks conveying the consignment before final dispatch. These details shall include the particulars of all the trucks as well as their respective loading capacities and the numbers of all the attached Customs seals.
8. Drivers of the BRVs shall sign an undertaking with Customs before dispatch (attach as Annex A)
9. Each BVR carrying part of the consignment shall report to all the Customs checkpoints along the routine checks to be conducted.
According to the GRA, the guidelines are for strict enforcement. “Any deviations shall constitute prima facie evidence of an attempt to breach Customs Control and may be penalised under existing legislation,” the advertorial said.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
