The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says revenue at the country’s ports is expected to rise by up to 40% annually following the deployment of an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to support customs operations.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Commissioner-General Anthony Kwasi Sarpong said the newly approved AI system will minimise human error, speed up duty assessment processes and enhance security checks across the ports.
According to him, the technology will calculate import duties within seconds, with human officers running parallel assessments to ensure accuracy and transparency.
“We will introduce AI to reduce human errors. The AI will ease the burden and calculate rates in a shorter amount of time. Humans will also perform their calculations so we can compare the results with those generated by the machine. We have taken this proposal to Parliament, and thankfully, it has been approved,” he said.
Mr. Sarpong added that importers will now receive information on their payable duties two weeks before vessels arrive, enabling faster processing and eliminating avoidable delays.
He stressed that the system is separate from ICUMS, explaining that the AI is capable of detecting narcotics, falsified declarations and high-risk cargo.
To ensure strong oversight, the GRA has set up a dedicated team at the Ministry of Finance that will operate independently of regular customs officers.
“Before the goods arrive at the ports, information regarding duties will be provided two weeks prior to the vessels’ arrival. This ensures that everything is ready before the vessels reach the ports, so importers should take note to avoid delays. This new system is different from the ICUMS system.
“The AI not only gathers information, but it also detects narcotics, counterfeit items and assesses risk profiles. We anticipate that AI will help increase our revenue at the ports by 40% annually. We have established a special team at the Ministry of Finance, separate from the regular customs staff. A few managers will oversee this team, and if anything goes wrong, they will be held accountable,” he added.
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