The Tema High Court has given clearance for the implementation of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) system after an injunction application filed by a freight forwarder, John Kwame Adu Jack was thrown out.
Mr. Adu Jack filed the application pending the final determination of his suit challenging the policy.
The judge, Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu in his ruling said the plaintiff failed to raise any ‘serious question of law’ to warrant any right for an order of interlocutory injunction.
According to the judge, even if the applicant had any right to an interlocutory injunction order, on the balance of convenience, the state would suffer greater hardship if the application was granted.
The plaintiff, John Kwame Adu Jack had sued the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Nti, and CTN Ghana Limited, over the implementation of the policy.
He argued that the CTN imposes certain fees and charges he believes are illegal and unconstitutional.
According to him, the charges are not backed by any regulations or approved by Parliament as required by the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891) and Article 174 of the 1992 Constitution.
He further argued that the CTN violated the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, a treaty which Ghana ratified on January 4, 2017.
Full implementation of the CTN started on Monday, October 15, 2018 despite the lawsuit.
Prior to the implementation, freight forwarders embarked on a strike action on August 27, 2018 to protest the system at the ports.
The action was because the businesses said the government did not heed to concerns on the policy which they claimed impedes trade facilitation.
The CTN requires importers to provide real-time information on all consignments to Ghana to a global monitoring platform.
The cost, which ranges between 100 and 200 dollars, is being borne by the GRA.
Source: graphiconline.com
