Customs Division aims to cut goods clearance time at ports by 50%

The Ghana Revenue Authority's Customs Division has pledged to reduce the time it takes to clear goods at various ports in the country by 50%.

A recent study carried out across five major ports found that it currently takes 10-12 days to clear goods at the Tema port, 7 days at the Kotoka International Airport and 3 days at the various land borders.

The Customs Commissioner, Seidu Iddi Iddisah, has expressed confidence in reducing these times by half in the next two years.

“We deal with several agencies and we have identified areas that delay the early release of goods and what to do to shorten the time, and we are looking at reducing the delays by 50 per cent in the next two years.”

The Times Release Study, sponsored by the USAID and other donors, is the first report of its kind in Ghana. It identifies bottlenecks associated with clearing goods and provides recommendations to improve the processes.

The Customs Commissioner has assured stakeholders that the identified issues causing the delay will be resolved within two years. Once these improvements are implemented, businesses will benefit significantly from the reduced time it takes to clear goods at the country's ports.