ICUMS increases return on auction by 30%  through e-auction

The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Rev Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah has announced that a new e-auction module added to the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) is yielding positive results.

He said that since its inception in October 2022, the e-auction module on the ICUMS platform has yielded amounts exceeding the reserved price on the auctioned items.

The Commissioner General said the first auction conducted, the Authority realized 6.8% above the reserved price, the second one yielded 13% and the last one ended with 30%.

He disclosed this on Wednesday when the Chairman of the Customs Uni-Pass International Agency (CUPIA), Mr Yoon-shik Kim and the Executive Chairman of Ghana Link Network Services Ltd (Ghana Link), Mr Nick Danso Adjei paid a courtesy call on the GRA.

The Commissioner General urged the Chairman of CUPIA to continuously hold the hands of the GRA staff as it focuses on the transfer of capacity to make Ghanaians capable of handling the system over time.

Dr Owusu-Amoah said the introduction of the ICUMS has improved operations of the GRA at the ports by increasing efficiency, compliance and fast tracking trade facilitation among importers.

He said the CUPIA team has been supportive so far, noting that whenever there is new module to be introduced, they are always available to assist the GRA and Ghana Link team.

The Chairman of CUPIA said the team is grateful to the GRA staff and management for the cooperation of partners to ensure the success of the ICUMS.

The Chairman of the ICUMS Project, Mr Emmanuel Ohene commended the stakeholders who have contributed significantly to the implementation of the project, which has yielded significant benefits to the country.

He said it was the prayer of the Authority to see the ICUMS system exported to other African countries, noting that authorities from Gambia have shown interest in replicating the ICUMS system.

He noted that they believe that the relationship of the GRA, CUPIA and Ghana Link would be one of a lifetime and in a million where we see GRA transform the rest of Africa through the system.

In a related engagement with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Sector Minister said Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyeramaten recounted the challenges that confronted the stakeholders on the commencement of the implementation.

Due to the determination from the government and the other stakeholders, the system is now working and helping the country to retrieve much revenue from the ports.

The Executive Chairman of Ghana Link Network Services Ltd (Ghana Link), Nick Danso Adjei commended the partners for the key role played in ensuring the success of the ICUMS project.

He urged the CUPIA to continuously open up to the Ghana team when faced with difficulties to ensure the sustainability of the successes chalked over the period of implementation.