Legal practitioner challenges GRA’s authority over more than two phones duty rule
Jonathan Alua has asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the GRA has the legal authority to determine passenger baggage exemptions without parliamentary approval.
Legal practitioner Jonathan Alua has challenged the authority of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to determine Customs duty exemptions for travellers carrying personal belongings, following controversy over the number of mobile phones passengers may bring into Ghana.
Alua has filed a case at the Supreme Court against the Attorney General and the Commissioner-General of the GRA, challenging the legal basis for determining the quantity of passenger baggage that qualifies for exemption from Customs duties and taxes.
The case follows recent discussions surrounding the GRA’s warning that travellers carrying more than two mobile phones could have additional devices treated as commercial imports and subjected to applicable Customs duties.
Speaking on the Big Mike Breakfast Show on Monday September 7, Alua argued that the GRA should not independently determine or vary tax exemptions relating to passenger baggage.
He questioned the authority of the GRA to collect duties in circumstances where, in his view, the determination of tax exemptions should be guided by the appropriate legal and constitutional processes.
According to the legal practitioner, the power to waive or vary taxes requires prior approval from Parliament under Article 174 of the 1992 Constitution.
He is therefore asking the Supreme Court to determine whether the law gives the GRA Commissioner-General or authorised Customs officers the power to make such determinations, or whether those powers should be exercised through the constitutional process involving Parliament.
The legal action comes after the GRA clarified that carrying more than two mobile phones does not automatically mean a traveller will be required to pay Customs duty.
The Authority explained that Customs officers consider factors including the quantity and nature of the phones, whether they are new or used, their packaging, and whether they appear to be intended for personal use, sale or distribution.
The case could provide clarity on the authority of Customs officers to determine passenger baggage exemptions and how such exemptions should be applied to travellers entering Ghana.
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