Mr Denise Anfo-Sefah, President of the Chamber, said the reasons being cited by the other freight companies for the suspension of the CTN and a possible strike from them was unfounded.

Mr Anfo-Sefah noted that “we support the implementation of the CTN as it will provide the needed electronic platform for tracking and checking cargoes coming into the country”   He added that it would help the Custom Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to have a fore knowledge of what was being shipped into the country even before it arrived.

According to him, over the years, Customs had been complaining of doctored documents, misclassification and revenue loss, therefore the CTN implementation would help seal all loop holes and maximize revenue for the country.

He advised freight forwarders to use the CTN to clear the tag of falsification and doctoring of shipping documents on them and project their good image as genuine people.   On Monday, about 800 corporate entities in the freight fraternity issued a one-week ultimatum to government to suspend the implementation of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) or face a shutdown of the freight system.

The freight fraternity is made up of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Association of Custom House Agents of Ghana (ACHAG), Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana, Custom Brokers Association of Ghana (CUBAG), and the Importers and Exporters Association.

The Cargo Tracking Note system was introduced by the GRA and enjoined exporters world over, shipping cargo to Ghana to provide detailed and timely information about their shipment in advance on a Global Online Platform being run by Messrs Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) Ghana Limited.

It aims at modernizing the GRA’s operations to facilitate the movement of the legitimate trade in line with international best practices as pioneered by the United States of America.