Should the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) go ahead to implement the new UNIPASS trade facilitation system at the ports, the Ghana Community Network (GCNet) will shut down its systems and head straight to court to demand an estimated US$120million in judgment debt, the Business24 has picked up.
The figure includes, among other things, the cost of demobilizing the company’s technological systems and physical infrastructure across the country.
The stance of the company, this paper has gathered, was in response to a letter asking to pay them off the unexpired bit of its current contract with government to provide Customs valuation and trade facilitation services at the country’s ports—when the contract is expected to expire in full by 2023.
“We are currently at the crossroads for doing the unthinkable in the country’s ports; we have invested into so much into technology, created so much employment opportunities and consistently helped to shore up revenue from 2002 till date.
It does not augur well for a country that is looking for investments, if it cannot respect the sanctity of contracts,” a source said.
The decision of the ministries of Trade and Industry and Finance to award a 10-year contract to Ghana Link and its oversea partner, CUPIA Korea Customs, to operate the UNIPASS trade facilitation has stoked a lot of controversy.
Although some key port stakeholders including the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) and Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana have expressed as baseless the need to replace the existing systems at the port, the GRA appears ready to implement what it describes as “the best end-to-end solution” for the Customs management.
“We are aware of the existing infrastructure for customs processes but this–[UNIPASS]–is the only one so far that offers end-to-end services starting from the beginning to the end,” Commissioner of Customs, Col. Kwadwo Damoah, had said at a recently held media workshop to justify the need for the new trade facilitation tool.
Per the plan, the UNIPASS system was supposed to be piloted at the Takoradi Port as at yesterday [Tuesday] but checks by the Business24 showed that the exercise could not take off.
The Business24 has gathered that although the cost of operating UNIPASS is more expensive compared to that of the two current operators, the state will not be making any money from the new system, except in the area of transit trade.
Also, aside the costs to the taxpayer, the shutdown of GCNet’s systems will have dire implications on the operations of some critical state agencies whose back-end activities ride on its technological infrastructure including the DVLA, Fire Service etc.