Consignments
Open the book you already run — BLs, arrivals, and what is still pending with the agent.
Sign in to shipmentsImport into Ghana with your eyes open.
Run the book you already have — consignments, agents, documents, and clocks. The official procedure sits underneath as a reference, not a lecture.
What a working importer opens this site to do. Sign in if the book is yours. This desk does not file in ICUMS.
Open the book you already run — BLs, arrivals, and what is still pending with the agent.
Sign in to shipmentsRank licensed houses by trust and fit for this cargo and corridor — not a brochure list.
Sign in to matchingRaise a shipment against a named forwarder before the vessel is a hostage.
Sign in to new shipmentPut the bill of lading where the house can see it, with you still the importer of record.
Sign in to bl handoffSeparate the GRA tax bill from line demurrage, terminal storage, and the agent’s fee.
Sign in to cost viewSee performance on your own history before you give the next box to the same house.
Sign in to analyticsControl questions. Jump to the reference only when the job needs it.
Tariff line, value, and origin decide the bill. A zero-duty line can still attract VAT. Nothing here replaces a GRA tax bill.
What is the tariff line, origin, and customs procedure?
ECOWAS bands are commonly summarised as 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, or 35%. The exact line — not the nickname on the invoice — chooses the band.
Does this import attract VAT or other statutory levies?
VAT and health or education levies can still apply when duty is zero. Confirm the current rates with your agent and the GRA assessment.
Is this the GRA tax bill, or someone else’s invoice?
Port handling, storage, and shipping-line charges are commercial. They are not paid as the GRA tax bill.
Duty is what GRA assesses. Demurrage is what the line charges when free days run out. Mixing them is how a working book still loses money.
These start from the shipping line’s tariff on your Bill of Lading or air waybill. After they end, demurrage or detention is a commercial charge — not import duty.
The port or terminal charges for cargo that sits. Time spent waiting for an examination is part of that clock.
If you transferred funds against an Import Declaration Form, ask your bank and licensed agent for the current GRA deadline to enter the goods. We do not publish a day count that can go stale.
GRA requires a licensed Customs House Agent to clear goods at the ports. When you appoint someone — new house or the one you already use — ask: “Will you file in ICUMS against my TIN?”
Sign in when you are ready to work with a forwarder. This page does not publish a public agent directory.
For a new hire, an exception, or the first Ghana job. If wording differs, the live GRA page wins.
Nine steps for the importer of record. Your licensed agent files.
Hold a TIN or Ghana Card PIN. If you import as a company, keep your company papers ready.
Be able to say what they are made of, what they are for, and whether they are prohibited or need a permit.
FDA, Ghana Standards Authority, plant health, and others must be in hand before the cargo is stuck at the port.
Bill of Lading or waybill, attested invoice, packing list, trade IDF, TIN or PIN, and any permits.
GRA requires a licensed agent to clear goods at the ports. You stay the importer of record.
Ghana’s customs system classifies the goods, values them, and approves the declaration.
Pay at a participating bank. That receipt is not the same invoice as the port or the shipping line.
Red means a physical examination. Yellow means a scan. Green means release at the gate, with a scan on the way out at MPS as GRA currently describes.
Keep the full file. Audits and any refund talk come after the gate, not instead of it.
Source: GRA Import Procedures.
Have these ready so delay does not start at Tema, Takoradi, or Kotoka. Papers on this site are not the same as Customs acceptance.
Open a topic. This is a reference, not a Customs ruling and not legal advice.
The TIN on the entry is yours — even when the house files.
Customs names the importer of record. That is your GRA TIN or Ghana Card PIN, and your company file if you import as a company. The Ministry of Trade IDF sits on that file. This page does not issue those documents, and your agent does not become the importer by filing.
When to stop, and when to get a permit.
Some goods may not be imported at all. Others need a licence or permit first. If you are unsure, read GRA’s prohibitions page and ask your licensed agent before the vessel sails. A missing permit is not something this site can waive.
Build a file Customs will recognise.
GRA lists the original waybill or Bill of Lading, attested invoice, packing list, trade IDF, TIN or Ghana Card PIN, and required permits. Uploading papers here does not mean Customs has accepted them.
Why banks and your agent will ask about the IDF.
The IDF comes from the Ministry of Trade. If you have already transferred money against an IDF, ask your bank and licensed agent what the current deadline is to enter the goods and pay duty. Deadlines change; we do not invent them here.
Why two quotes for the “same” goods can differ.
There is no single Ghana duty rate. The tariff line, the customs value (usually the price plus freight and insurance into Ghana), and the country of origin decide the bill. The port the ship last called is not automatically the country of origin. We do not assign a tariff code for you.
Follow the filing without being shut out of it.
ICUMS is Ghana’s customs system. Your licensed agent submits the declaration. The system classifies, values, and approves. You pay the tax bill, then present the bank receipt according to the inspection path. This website does not file that declaration.
What the inspection colours mean.
GRA describes Red as a mandatory physical examination, Yellow as a digital scan, and Green as release at the gate (with an automatic scan on the way out of MPS, as currently worded). We cannot predict which path your consignment will take.
Separate the GRA bill from port and shipping invoices.
Import duty follows the tariff line. VAT and other levies can still apply even when duty is zero. Port handling and shipping-line charges are separate invoices. A figure on this site is never a substitute for the GRA tax bill.
Know which clock is costing you money.
Duty is what GRA assesses. Demurrage and detention are what you pay the line or terminal when free days run out. Mixing the two is how a working book still loses money on a job that already looked cleared.
Same law, different clocks.
Tema and Takoradi use a Bill of Lading and port handling. Kotoka uses an air waybill and a shorter clock. Land borders and courier sheds are still a customs entry. Restricted goods stay restricted.
Incoterms do not replace Customs.
CIF or CIP does not mean Ghana Customs will accept the invoice without question, and it does not clear the goods. If a seller promised “duty paid”, someone licensed in Ghana still has to file and pay. Cargo insurance is issued by a licensed insurer, not by this platform.
The one question that matters.
Ask: “Will you file in ICUMS in my name, against my TIN?” A licensed Customs House Agent is a regulated profession. A rating on this platform is useful; it is not the licence itself.
Start the permit before the ship is a hostage.
Food, drugs, and cosmetics often need Food and Drugs Authority steps. Many manufactured goods need Ghana Standards Authority. Plants and some farm goods need plant-health permits. We cannot issue those permits.
What to keep, and what is not finished.
Keep the declaration, tax-bill receipt, waybill, permits, and transport document. Customs can still review a file after release. For vehicles, leaving the port is not the same as registering with DVLA.
Sea, air, land, and courier all enter Ghana under the same customs law. The paperwork and the waiting time change.
The main commercial seaports. You will work with a Bill of Lading, port handling, and a delivery order from the shipping line.
Air cargo uses an air waybill. The legal entry is the same; the clock is usually shorter.
Corridors such as Aflao, Elubo, Paga, and Hamile. The same customs law applies. Informal “fixing” is not a service of this site.
Faster, still a customs entry. Restricted and prohibited lists still apply. A parcel is not treated like a 40-foot container, but it is not invisible to Customs.
Ama will later answer from this desk and the procedure reference, with sources. She will not invent a payable amount or an inspection colour. For now, jump to the topic.