The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has demonstrated its commitment to end illegal sample taking in a recent public notice to the trading public.
The notice, signed by its Commissioner-General, Col. (Rtd) Kwadwo Damoah, forbids “customs examination officers from taking samples except with sample labels from either the Customs Chemist, Chief Revenue Officer Outdoor, or Terminal heads”, during clearance procedures at the country’s ports.
Participating in a discourse on the Eye on Port program, a Senior Revenue Officer at the Customs Laboratory in Tema, Roger Nana Otoo Gardiner, in justifying the directive, indicated that the move was to enforce compliance.
He said one of the key agendas is to ensure that some miscreants in the Customs setup who engage in illegal sample-taking are identified and sanctioned appropriately.
“The issue of sampling has really become a menace. There are new declarants who do not know the procedure in sample taking out of their custody into customs custody, such that, it is becoming rampant. We receive compliants from declarants as well as GPHA security,” he disclosed.
According to him consignees are not obliged to comply if this document is not provided for sample taking as indicated in the notice from the Authority.
“When a customs officer approaches you, you should demand the sample label, as stated in the order notice from the Commissioner General,” he urged.
“If you do not allow taking of samples without the label, you can complain to the terminal head or the CCOD who could escalate it to the Sector Commander if need be,” he added.
He assured importers of fairness in the sample-taking activity at the ports, emphasizing on the Authority’s commitment to abide by the laws governing sample-taking.
“The schedule for sample taking gives examples to guide the quantity taken. For example, for containers of mosquito coil, six retail packs should be taken from different boxes in a container,” he cited.