[ 2016-02-07 ]

Gov´t urged to streamline duty drawback regime
Businesses in the country are calling on the
government to streamline the documentary
procedures associated with the duty drawback
regime.

That, they said, would ensure quick refunds as
well as improve business operations and increase
revenue generation for companies that operated in
the export trade.

The businesses raised the concerns at a
sensitisation workshop on duty drawback organised
by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC),
in Accra.
One after the other, the participants took turns
to voice their concerns about the negative effects
of the duty drawback mechanism on business
operations.

A participant, Mr John Duah, told the Daily
Graphic after the event that due to the challenges
associated with the drawback, his company’s
revenue had reduced drastically.

Explaining further, he said, his company had
applied for the drawback for the past two years
but they were yet to receive their entitlement.
“This leaves majority of us (applicants) still
having our funds locked up with the government, a
condition which starved us of liquidity,” he
noted.

Advocacy action

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the GNCC, Mr
Mark Badu-Aboagye, said due to the challenges
involved in the duty drawback regime, GNCC with
its partners had already started an advocacy
campaign to sensitise the public.

“An advocacy action had already been intensified
to reduce the bottlenecks and cumbersome nature of
the administrative procedures of the drawback
regime,” he said.

He said the chamber, with funding from Business
Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC), had conducted a study
on the duty drawback regime dubbed ‘Streamlining
the Duty Drawback Process in Ghana’.
The study was aimed at evaluating the operational
challenges and bottlenecks that had bedevilled the
implementation of the duty drawback framework.

Findings of the study

The study also revealed that a large number of
exporters who applied for the duty drawback over
the past two years had not received their due in
full.
The payment of drawback refunds could take about
10 months depending on follow-ups, the study
found.

In extreme cases, payment of refund could be made
after two years, while the shortest possible
period for refund was five months.
Another key concern the study highlighted was that
most of the manufacturers and business owners did
not have prior knowledge about the laws and
regulations governing the duty drawback regime.

"For instance, they do not know which of the
imported goods would be processed as re-exports
and on which drawback could be claimed," it
stated.
Another major challenge hampering the effective
implementation of the duty drawback scheme was the
insufficient funds in the escrow account to settle
drawbacks.

Source - Graphic online

... go Back