Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority will not allow into the country, importation of cars that have been defined according to the Customs Amendment Act 2020 as salvaged or do not have clean title by the 1st of November, 2020.
This follows an assurance from the Presidency that the law must be enforced but the challenges it portends to local businesses along the value chain would be addressed after implementation.
“It was concluded that, since it is a law that has been passed by Parliament and assented by the President, it must be implemented, so that after implementation, if there are still challenges bothering our businesses, then those issues can be worked on,” Eric Boateng, President of Automobile Dealers Union of Ghana (ADUG), who was part of a scheduled meeting with the President, said on GPHA’s Eye on Port.
Barely three months to take-off, some stakeholder groups raised red flags on aspects of the law describing it as vague and harsh which when allowed to be implemented will negatively impact their jobs and eventually their livelihoods.
The Vehicle and Assets Dealers Union of Ghana (VADUG), for instance, are arguing that the definition of salvage remains vague and the requirement of clean title is extremely strict.
They also indicated that their members import significant number of salvaged vehicles which has great ripple effect on the bigger value chain and therefore government must exercise caution in implementing the law that seeks to ban its importation.
However, the other stakeholders including the Abbosey Okai Spare Parts Dealers believe the alternatives to the ban on the salvaged vehicles are adequate to keep their members in business, insisting that the country has come of age to embrace such a policy.
“The fact that salvaged and overaged vehicles cannot be brought into Ghana does not mean that, other cars that are not salvaged and under 10 years of age cannot be brought in,” Clement Boateng the Co-Chairman of the Abbosey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association, explained.