Ghana ICT Energy Efficiency Labeling
Ghana is introducing new energy efficiency labeling requirements for computers, servers, and monitors. The product-specific regulations can be found here on the Energy Commission website.
The Guidelines for Manufacturers, Importers, and Retailers of Regulated Electrical Appliances, can be found here on this site. These guidelines include instructions on company and appliance registration, as well as the monitoring, verification, and enforcement framework.
The entry into force of these regulations was unclear to some manufacturers and distributors of these products. In early February, the Energy Commission and Ghana Standards Authority confirmed to Commercial Service Ghana that the new labeling requirements went into effect in November 2023. However, after their consultations with stakeholders that pointed out various aspects of how these goods are shipped and stocked by authorized dealers and importers, the regulators developed a supplemental roadmap about how these requirements will be enforced. The basic elements of that roadmap are as follows:
1. All cargo shipped and arriving in Ghana with an Actual Time of Arrival (ATA) by October 31, 2023, and which are customs cleared from November 2023 onward, are exempt from the labeling requirement.
2. All shipments arriving from November 2, 2023 onward are subject to the new requirements.
3. Under the new requirements, the following conditions need to be met:
Submission of technical documentation (energy efficiency performance test report);
Registration of models; and
The products need to be labeled.
4. The provision in Ghana’s original regulation regarding mandatory re-export of items that do not meet the requirement as of November 2, 2023, will be relaxed until July 2024. This is to allow importers to clear through customs all pre-ordered goods that have been delayed as a result of factory or shipments delays. However, such consignments and items will be cleared under detention to avoid demurrage pending the payment of an enforcement fee. Importers will be advised on the compliance status of items to avoid future imports of non-compliant models. For compliant models, the registration and labeling or re-labeling will be done locally.
5. All imports arriving in Ghana with ATA by August 1, 2024 that do not meet the registration and labeling requirement will be required to be re-exported. In cases where this is not possible, the relevant provisions of the original regulation will apply to those goods.
U.S. companies seeking additional information about these procedures can contact Office.Accra@trade.gov with follow-up questions. See Commercial Service Ghana’s market intelligence for more information about Ghana’s ICT sector and explanations about emerging regulatory measures and other laws affecting business in Ghana.
02/29/2024