Govt Urged To Streamline Operations Of Clearing Agents

A group of importers has urged the government to streamline the operations of clearing agents at the country's entry points to stem alleged illegal activities. The group recommended the creation of a “one-stop centre” where the clearing agents would deal directly with custom officials in the clearance of imported goods. Madam Theresa Kesewaa, a spokeswoman for the importers told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Wednesday the one stop-centre should operate as practiced in some European countries where there were no clearing agencies and importers only had to pay relevant taxes when their goods were delivered. She added that the agents allegedly demanded monies astronomically higher than taxes paid to government. "If an importer refuses to comply, his or her goods would remain at the port until doomsday", she added. She attributed the present high incidence of smuggling to the alleged conduct of clearing agents, saying "Importers will prefer to take a risk to avoid the payment of tax in addition to the astronomically high charges of the clearing agents”.