The Ministry of Finance has assured the various business organizations calling for the scrapping off of the Common External Tariff, (CET) of a possible review of some of the tariffs within the next five years.
The Common External Tariff which has been implemented for about a week now, requires that all imports into Ghana attract the same tariff as charged across the ECOWAS sub-region.
But the Importers and Exporters Association and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), have raised concerns stating that the move; will rather negatively affect local businesses.
They have since called for the policy to be abolished since they were not engaged in consultation.
But the Head of Tax Policy Unit at the Ministry of Finance, Anthony Dzadzra believes their concerns will be addressed within the review period granted by the policy.
“All that CET did, that in the next five years, any country that feels strongly about the sudden change of rates should just list them and bring it to ECOWAS, and it will be given approval to do something about it.
In those five years you are supposed to adjust,” He said. “In Ghana there is a reason why our rice is 20 percent because we are protecting local rice and we will continue to protect them.
In the next five years we have to do is to help the local rice producers to produce competitively so that in the next five years, we will reduce to 10 percent.
This period should make them learn to package, add quality to them so that after five years naturally, the competition with the foreign rice will be reduced,” Anthony Dzadzraa added.
By:www.dailyviewgh.com
