This is contained in the Customs Amendment Bill which is on the agenda of Parliament for consideration during this session.
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Ghanaian government to regulate importation of ‘second-hand’ and ‘accident’ vehicles
The Ghanaian Parliament is developing a regulatory framework for the importation of ‘second hand’ vehicles and cars involved in accidents.
Accident vehicles
Speaking to the media, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, said it is necessary for the government to regulate the emerging industry especially at a time when automobile giants are setting up plants to produce for domestic use.
Automobile giants like VW, Toyota, Renault, and Nissan, have all mentioned their plans to set up assembly plants in Ghana.
The Majority Leader explained that the government is creating an enabling environment for these companies and must, therefore, develop regulations that will limit the ‘unfettered’ access to second-hand cars and salvaged vehicles.
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“For a start, maybe we can ban the importation of second-hand cars which are more than 10 years-old and then also prevent the import of salvaged vehicles. These are vehicles that have been involved in accidents, floods and people will clean them up and bring them here. They are the reasons why we have so many accidents on our roads. So, it is intended to amend the customs bill to suit the circumstances.”
“We are not going to draw down the curtains overnight. We would suggest to ourselves that once the vehicle assembly plants start rolling out, we will give ourselves up to a period say six months and the law can be activated,” he noted.
Data available from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Customs Division, shows that over 1 million vehicles were imported into Ghana between 2005 and 2016.
This means that an average of 100,000 cars were imported each year.
Out of the total fleet of vehicles imported with the period under review, 80% are said to be secondhand vehicles.
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