By Issah Olegor
The import system is under renewed scrutiny after the Ghana Revenue Authority uncovered what officials describe as a major financial anomaly—about $31 billion transferred out of the country over five years without corresponding imports.
The revelation, disclosed by Commissioner-General Anthony Sarpong, points to deep-rooted weaknesses in the trade monitoring systems and raises fresh concerns about revenue losses, foreign exchange pressures, and institutional oversight at the country’s ports.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on April 10, Mr. Sarpong described the findings as “very revealing,” explaining that a retrospective analysis of trade data exposed significant discrepancies between payments made abroad and goods actually received.
According to him, the issue goes beyond simple accounting gaps.
The review uncovered widespread practices such as misclassification of imports, under-valuation of goods, and manipulation of country-of-origin declarations—tactics often used to evade duties or bypass regulatory scrutiny.
More troubling, he disclosed evidence of coordinated collusion involving some shipping line staff, customs officials, and importers.
This network, he suggested, enabled the systematic exploitation of loopholes within the import clearance processes.
The findings come against the backdrop of longstanding concerns over revenue leakages at Ghana’s ports, where practices such as under-declaration and transit diversion have historically undermined government revenue. In 2025 alone, customs operations recorded a shortfall of GH¢1.6 billion, intensifying calls for reform.
Sarpong indicated that the scale of the problem made it clear that traditional, manual systems—heavily reliant on human discretion—were no longer sufficient to safeguard the country’s trade regime.
In response, the GRA has accelerated its shift toward automation, introducing artificial intelligence-driven systems to enhance oversight and reduce opportunities for manipulation.Central to this reform is the rollout of the Publican system, launched on March 12, 2026.
The platform operates as a real-time monitoring tool, cross-checking import declarations against global pricing benchmarks and historical trade data.
Unlike previous processes, which depended largely on manual verification, the system is designed to instantly flag suspicious transactions for further scrutiny.
Officials believe the adoption of such technology will significantly tighten controls in key risk areas, including valuation, classification, and origin verification—areas previously vulnerable to abuse.
