Exporters who fail to repatriate their earnings through Ghana’s formal banking system risk having their transactions classified as domestic sales, potentially attracting applicable duties, taxes and other sanctions, the Ministry of Finance has warned.
Head of Revenue Assurance at the Ministry, Victor Kofi Baidoo, said the requirement formed part of measures to strengthen compliance with export regulations and prevent revenue losses.
He explained that amendments to the Customs Act had made the repatriation of export proceeds a key requirement for completing export declarations.
“This means that any export declaration without a repatriation would not be considered an export and would be seen as domestic sales,” he said.
The warning comes as the Bank of Ghana (BoG) intensifies efforts to ensure that foreign exchange earned from exports returns to the domestic economy to support the country’s external reserves and exchange rate stability.
Second Deputy Governor of the BoG, Matilda Asante-Asiedu, said exporters who failed to return their earnings were weakening Ghana’s capacity to finance imports and withstand external economic shocks.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement on the revised Letters of Commitment (LOC) guidelines, she stressed that every dollar earned from exports was important to the country’s foreign exchange position.
“Every dollar of exports that fails to come to Ghana has many implications,” she said.
Mrs Asante-Asiedu cited rising global oil prices, noting that Ghana’s oil import bill had increased by nearly 40 per cent amid geopolitical tensions. She said the country’s foreign exchange buffers had helped meet import requirements while limiting the impact of external pressures on domestic prices.
She also underscored the importance of exchange rate stability to businesses, particularly shipping operators whose costs were largely denominated in foreign currencies.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, cautioned exporters against allowing their businesses or shipping processes to be used to transport illicit drugs.
He warned that involvement in such activities could damage Ghana’s international reputation and expose legitimate traders to greater scrutiny and delays.
“They shouldn’t allow themselves for a few greedy and selfish people to use their processes to transport or to use them to transport some of these illicit drugs,” he said.
Prof. Gyampo also urged exporters to comply with the LOC requirements and ensure that proceeds from their transactions were repatriated through commercial banks.
The officials said compliance with the export proceeds repatriation requirements was essential to strengthening foreign exchange inflows, protecting government revenue and supporting confidence in Ghana’s trading system.
