Government has suspended the 50% and 30% benchmark values on selected goods & vehicles respectively
A freight forwarder, Jacob Agyemang has urged government to create a balance between manufacturing and imports in its quest to suspend the benchmark values on selected goods and services.
He opined that the country cannot survive without both, hence the call.
Government suspended the 50% benchmark values on selected goods and the 30% on vehicles to make the measure more efficient and targeted.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who announced this when he presented the 2022 budget in parliament said the move was consistent with the government policy to promote local industry and improve foreign exchange earnings.
He said the government was committed to a programme of turning enterprising traders into manufacturers of widgets, tools and other machinery necessary as inputs for industrial growth.
This was after the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in a letter forwarded to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, signed by the Commissioner-General, Rev. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, revealed that the move is informed by an agreement reached with the business community to generate more revenue.
While the AGI pushed for the suspension of the Benchmark values, GUTA was also not in support of it because they said it will affect their businesses and inflate prices of imported goods.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Mr Jacob Agyemang said the suspension of the Benchmark Values on vehicles and goods and services will not help the country as prices of goods will go up.
Noting the conflict between import and manufacturing as far as the Benchmark Values is concerned, he urged government to create a balance, saying it is not importation of goods that has raised the prices of goods, rather the cost of production in the country.
He noted the high cost of electricity, interest rates on loans and payment terms are some of the challenges affecting production in Ghana, calling on the AGI to take note and present that to government.
He said, “Government must create a balance between the two because a country without traders cannot survive, equally, a country without manufacturers can also not survive.”
Meanwhile, Mr Agyemang was of the belief that the suspension of the Benchmark Values can be amended before the budget is approved.