Government is likely to make changes to the custom policy introduced
in April 2019 which saw a reduction in benchmark values on some goods
cleared at the ports.
This has become necessary due to feedback received from stakeholders
that the policy has not been effective and has fallen short of purpose.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Kweku Kwarteng in an interview at a
stakeholders engagement on the 2020 budget, disclosed that as
discussions are still ongoing regarding the policy, the government will
address the concerns in the 2020 budget which is expected in November.
According to Kweku Kwarteng, the feedback has been taken and as a
listening government, it is preparing to address them as well as
reviewing some of the reliefs announced in the main 2019 budget.
He said, “In the next year’s budget, we have no plans to introduce
new taxes but we will review some of the reliefs given in the previous
tax especially the Benchmark value reduction; because we’re getting
feedback from domestic manufacturers that this policy is
counterproductive and we’re taking a close look at that so that in the
next budget we will address all concerns and review some of them.”
He also disclosed that though the government is struggling to meet
its revenue targets, there are no plans to introduce any new tax policy
in the 2020 budget. This is because it is finding an innovative solution
to the Revenue mobilization challenges.
“We’re pushing to meet the target but we’re also happy that the
various interventions are leading to an expansion in economic activity
across the country,” he added.
Benchmark values were introduced as a risk mechanism by Customs to allow it to independently authenticate the international transactional values of products presented by importers for clearance at the country’s ports.
The implementation of the reduction in the benchmark values of 50 per cent for general imports and 30 per cent home delivery value (HDV) for vehicles came into effect on April 5, 2019, after persistent calls by the trading public on high import duty rates at the country’s ports.
While the 30 per cent discount for vehicles took immediate effect with the announcement of the policy, the 50 per cent announced for general imports, on the other hand, has not seen a smooth implementation because of the large volumes of the commodities.
Source: Joy Business
