Parliament amends Act to ban import of accident vehicles



Parliament has passed the Customs bill (Amendment) into law to regulate the country’s automobile industry.

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Parliament of Ghana passed an amendment of the Customs Law, which bans the import of vehicles that have been involved in accidents, to help the automobile industry in the country. The ban affects vehicles that are over 10 years of age as well as those with visible damages.

It also seeks to provide incentives for automobile manufacturers and assemblers in the country, as well as increase the import duty on specific motor vehicles and provide import duty exemptions for security agencies.

Automobile giants such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Suzuki, Nissan Motors, Sinotruk, among others, have in recent times signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with government. They have all expressed interest in setting up assembly plants here in Ghana, which will in turn boost the country’s industrial growth.

But the proposal to ban these vehicles has been met with outrage from car dealers - who consider the move to be too harsh and an attempt to collapse their businesses to make way for the foreign car-makers.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said in an addresses when signing an MoU with one of the automobiles last year: “We are attaching a great deal of importance to this initiative and development. It’s in line with government's vision of making Ghana an automotive hub for West Africa and the larger African market.

“We want to assure you that whatever it is we can do on the side of government to provide you with the necessary support and assurance that the investment you are going to make in our country will be worth your while, you can count on us to do so. Ghana is the base to reach the larger African market with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) coming into force,” President Akufo-Addo added.

With this law in full force, government is expected to give tax exemptions of more than GH¢800million within 3 years to automobile giants setting up vehicle assembly plants in the country, a report by the Joint Committee on Finance and Trade, Industry and Tourism on the Customs (Amendment) bill, March 2020, in Parliament has said.

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