Ghanaian customs practices and port infrastructure continue to present obstacles to trade. The World Bank’s 2024 Bready report on Ghana estimates an average of 14 days for imported goods to clear the border. It estimates the costs of complying with all import requirements to be 23 % of the value of the good being imported. On its perception index, it has a high score of 80, indicating that customs and trade regulations are a constraint, and 75 that transportation logistics are a constraint. 

Ghanaian officials have introduced risk-management approaches, such as the Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System. However, approximately 60- 80 % of imports are still subject to inspection on arrival by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Service, causing delays and increased costs. Importers report erratic application of customs and other import regulations, lengthy clearance procedures, and corruption. The resulting delays can contribute to product deterioration and result in significant losses for importers of perishable goods. 

Additionally, Ghana’s ports suffer from congested roads and lack a functioning rail system to transport freight, creating long waits for ships to berth at cargo terminals and for containers to be transported out of the ports. Ghana Ports and Harbor Authority (GPHA) is working to modernize both the Ports of Tema and Takoradi. Ghana has launched several initiatives over the past couple of years to support online information and processing of trade transactions, including the development of a National Single Window.
 
The Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS) platform processes documents and payments through a single window that provides an end-to-end trade facilitation and automated customs operation and management system. The ICUMS fee is 0.75% of the Free on Board (FOB) value of imports. In addition, for some products, Ghana may apply a 1% customs processing fee which is assessed on Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) plus the duty on the import. 

Customs valuation: Ghana has an opaque system for assessing the value of goods for customs valuation. Although its law provides that it should generally assess customs value based on the agreed transaction value between the seller and the buyer, in practice, Ghana applies a wide range of references prices or benchmarks. Ghana’s practices for assessing the value of imported used vehicles are particularly complex. Interested traders should contact Commercial Service Ghana to discuss the specifics, which are subject to frequent change. 

Additional potential reforms to Ghana’s customs regime have been negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s National Trade Estimate Report, Ghana ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in 2017, but it has not yet submitted transparency notifications related to: (1) the operation of the single window; and (2) the use of customs brokers. Those notifications were due to the WTO on July 22, 2021, according to Ghana’s self-designated implementation schedule. Ghana has not yet notified its customs valuation legislation to the WTO, nor has it responded to the Checklist of Issues that describes how the Customs Valuation Agreement is being implemented. WTO Members pressed Ghana to make these submissions as a part of Ghana’s Trade Policy Review at the WTO in June 2022.