Effective Tuesday, July 22, 2025, all shipping companies, terminal operators, freight forwarders, and other port service providers must publish the daily exchange rates they use for billing, either on their websites or at their premises, and communicate these rates to customers before invoicing.
The directive issued by the BoG is part of new guidelines on exchange rate application in Ghana’s shipping industry to enhance transparency and consistency
According to the guidelines, each invoice must also state the currency of the service, the applied exchange rate, the date of application, and the final amount in either Ghana cedis (GHS) or U.S. dollars (USD).
The Bank of Ghana stressed that exchange rates used for invoicing must be market-reflective and not arbitrarily determined. This is expected to address complaints from importers and exporters about unclear and varying exchange rates applied by different shipping service providers.
In the event of disputes over exchange rate application, customers may first file a formal complaint with the service provider. If unresolved, the complaint can be escalated to the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) for redress.
All players in the shipping sector are required to comply with the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723) and other relevant regulations. The BoG warned that non-compliance with these guidelines could attract administrative sanctions.
The guidelines will remain in force until they are amended or revoked by the Bank of Ghana.