(3 Minutes Read)
Ghana’s used car dealers are pleading with the government to reduce the duties paid at the port while importing automobiles. Dealers said their business is on the verge of extinction due to the excessive tariffs they pay at the ports.
From the beginning of this year, things have deteriorated further due to the fall of the exchange rate. Previously duty on some particular vehicles was GH¢50, 000 but since the beginning of the year, it has tripled to GH¢150, 000. Charges at the port too have increased threefold.
A Toyota Vitz saloon car that cost GH¢27, 000 a year ago is now GH¢80, 000 to GH¢85000 because the duty has risen from GH¢3000 to 40000. Toyota Yaris 2008 Model used to sell for GH¢55000 a few years ago is now GH¢140, 000 because the duty is around GH¢70, 000 currently. At the beginning of the year, there was a new weekly increment at the port every Tuesday and the only explanation they get about this canker is that the harbour is now in the hands of a private entity and no longer with the STA. To compound this when you don’t clear your vehicle on the stipulated time given you charged an extra fee for delays.
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https://trendsnafrica.com/ghana-bans-imports-of-cars-older-than-10-years/
The taxes placed on the duty are so astronomical that one wonders if it is a crime to import used vehicles into the country. Many young artisans and workers in the used car dealership sector have deserted their jobs and left the country for greener pastures. The growth of the business in this sector in terms of profit and loss is largely on duties paid on the vehicles.
