Prime News Ghana

UNIPASS : GUTA wants to know who bears the cost of demurrage, rent charges at the port

By Justice Kofi Bimpeh
Tema port
Tema port
Shares
facebook sharing button Share
twitter sharing button Tweet
email sharing button Email
sharethis sharing button Share

The Ghana Union of Traders Association, GUTA, is asking the government to come clear on who bears the cost of demurrage and rent charges at the port after the implementation of the Integrated Customs Management Systems, (ICUMS), also known as UNIPASS.

They are also appealing to the government to speedily fix the challenges that have bedevilled the implementation UNIPASS.

According to them, the existing difficulties with the system which are causing delays is pushing them to pay more for demurrage and rent, a cost they cannot bear.

In a statement issued by the Association, President of the group, Dr. Joseph Obeng, said, “prior to the introduction of the UNIPASS system, we were briefed on the efficiency that the new system would bring to bear on the clearing process at the ports. It is, therefore, a surprise to us that the system is fraught with challenges that cause delay, which eventually costs the importer, in terms of demurrage and rent charges.”

READ ALSO : Challenges with UNIPASS will lead to revenue loss - Freight Forwarders

“We want to know, who bears the cost of such demurrages and rent since the importer is not the cause of the problems in the implementation of the new system,” he added.

The full implementation of the UNIPASS system which experienced challenges during the pilot phase took off on Monday, June 1, 2020, but the process has not been smooth so far.

 

 

Â