Classfmonline.com reported yesterday that the Customs Monitoring Team stationed at the Eastern Corridor had intercepted a significant quantity of contraband goods, consisting of 11,200 pieces of wax prints and 6,000 mobile devices, which had been illicitly brought into the country by a group of traders.
The Customs officials uncovered this smuggling operation in response to an attempt to under-declare the value of the goods, effectively evading the associated duties and taxes. The wax prints, according to classfmonline.com, were apprehended at the Dabala border post, near Sogakope, in the Volta Region. These confiscations were made during routine spot checks carried out by officials from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
In the case of the wax prints, the evasion of taxes amounted to GH¢1.3 million. The separate operation at the Juapong Check Point led to the interception of the 6,000 mobile phones and tablets, the value of which is currently under evaluation.
The leader of the Eastern Corridor Monitoring Team, Dari Abdallah, revealed to the media outlet that the declared goods had been brought into the country with a declared value of only                      GH¢25,000 despite containing more than 11,000 pieces of the concealed wax prints. This glaring discrepancy prompted the interception of the goods by Customs officials.
Though no country can develop without the payment of taxes by her citizens, many Ghanaians pretend that they are not aware of this. Day in and out, importers are adopting all manner of crooked tactics to evade payment of taxes on goods they have imported into the country.
Of course, we are aware of the concerns that have been raised by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA). The latter is arguing that the taxes are too many, therefore, killing business initiatives. Apart from GUTA, other stakeholders have also raised concerns about the high taxes the government has introduced in her desire to shore up revenue.
But whilst these are legitimate concerns, we do not think trying to use subterfuge to dodge the payment of taxes on goods one has imported into the country is the best practice we should applaud. The textiles companies in the country have always been raising the issue of illegitimate and unbridled importation of cheap foreign wax prints into the country.
The practice, they argue, is collapsing the industry, with the subsequent loss of jobs. Unfortunately, those engaged in the importation of these materials, either through legitimate or foul means, are not interested in listening to the textile industries. Now, since people are losing their jobs locally, one would have expected these importers to also pay the required taxes on these goods that they are importing to destroy our local industry, but that is not happening.
As we noted earlier, they are rather adopting crooked methods to outwit the tax collectors so that they can make super profits. This, in our opinion, should not be allowed to happen and that is why we are commending the custom division of the Ghana Revenue Authority for the good work done.
They should keep an eagle’s eye on these importers, especially those using our land borders to ensure that they pay the required taxes on all goods they import into the country. If the taxes are many, they should use the right channels to have their grievances addressed, instead of trying to cheat the system.
