Business News of Monday, 6 February 2017
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2017-02-06
Valentina Minta, Chief Executive of West Blue Consulting
International trade facilitation consulting firm, West Blue Consulting has been honoured by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for rendering exceptional services to the country and the international community
The company was awarded through the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority on the occasion of the International Customs Day, which was also celebrated in Ghana at the World Trade Center, Accra.
This is the second time West Blue Consulting has received an award from the WCO after it first clinched a similar award in Nigeria in 2015 in recognition of its exceptional services to the international community.
Single Window project
West Blue Consulting, in partnership with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, launched the Ghana National Single Window (GNSW) project.
Under the project, import clearance transactions at the Tema Port and the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) have reduced from two weeks to two hours to increase government revenue at the ports.
Through the project, Ghana’s ranking has increased in the World Bank Trading Across Border Reports from 167 in 2015 to 154 in 2017; and in the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-region, Ghana ranked first in West Africa and Top 10 in Sub Saharan Africa, coming in at the 9th position out of the 47 countries ranked in the region.
Performance index
The country also made tremendous improvements in the Global Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranking, rising 12 places from 100th in 2014 to 88th in 2016 out of 160 countries.
In the Sub-Saharan Africa Sub Region, Ghana ranked Number 1 in West Africa and Top 10 in Sub Saharan Africa, coming in the 9th out of the 47 countries ranked in the region
Ms Valentina Minta, Chief Executive of West Blue Consulting said, “We are proud to be a recipient of the award in Ghana.”
She said the company was looking forward to doing more and would continue to work with the government and stakeholders to ensure the nation enjoyed the full benefits of a facilitated trade environment to make business convenient in Ghana.
Ghana is among the economies that heavily invested in electronic systems to facilitate trade. In September 2015. It implemented the first phase of its national single window and ended the contract with Destination Inspection Companies for its Pre-Arrival Assessment programme.
Classification and valuation
The certificate of valuation report which previously was issued by Destination Inspection Companies after a documentary inspection is no longer required to import goods into Ghana. Instead the customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority now processes the Customs Classification and Valuation Report (CCVR) through the Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System (PPARS), a component of the single window.
Through the PPARS system customs brokers and freight forwarders can submit an application form online, attaching scanned supporting documents, and upon assessment by a customs official, the CCVR is approved electronically because imported products are no longer subject to documentary inspection at origin. Documentary compliance time for imports decreased by 206 hours in 2016.
