Used car dealers call on govt to slash 50% on duty at the ports

Used car dealers in the country are pleading with the government to reduce the duties paid at the port when importing vehicles to enable them to be in business and continue with their trade.

They said their business is on the verge of being extinct due to the exorbitant tariffs they pay at the ports and this has affected their source of livelihood.

“From the beginning of this year which is January, our business has been on the downturn because of the exchange rate, government must ensure that every business in the country must be transacted in cedis and not dollars, the tendency in which the dollar dominates in major transactions in the country is what is hurting our business,” Mr Nana Yaw Agyekum, chairman of the Kaneshie First Light Used Car Dealers told the Graphic Business.

He revealed that previously a duty on some particular vehicles was GH¢50, 000 but since the beginning of the year they are charged GH¢150, 000 on the same vehicles.

“How much are you going to sell such a vehicle to the customer for him or her to purchase, the government must intervene and reduce the rate of the dollar against the cedi,’ he stated.

He disclosed that charges at the ports have increased into two to three folds; for instance, according to him Toyota Vitz saloon car that cost GH¢27, 000 a year ago is now GH¢80, 000 to GH¢85000 because the duty has risen from GH¢3000 to 40000.

“Toyota Yaris 2008 Model that used to sell for GH¢55000 a few years ago is now GH¢140, 000 because the duty is around GH¢70, 000 currently,” he lamented to the Graphic Business while seated in front of his office at Kaneshie.

He pointed to the Graphic Business that the vehicles paraded in front of his office have been sitting there since last year and no one is able to afford them.

New increment

Mr Agyekum told this medium that since the beginning of the year there has been a new weekly increment at the port on every Tuesday and the only explanation they get about this canker is that the harbor is now in the hands of a private entity and no longer for the state.

“To compound this when you don’t clear your vehicle on the stipulated time given you charged an extra fee for delays, this is seriously affecting us,’ he stated.

Taxes on duty

He further stressed that the taxes placed on the duty are so astronomical that one wonders if it is a crime to import used vehicles into the country.

“Let me give you an example, for instance if the duty you are supposed to pay on a vehicle is GH¢30,000, an additional GH¢80,000 in taxes are placed on the duty making it GH¢110,000, what is happening, where did we go wrong,” he noted.

He added that many young artisans and workers in the used car dealership sector have deserted the job and left the country for greener pastures.

Hard to make sales

For Abraham Adimpong who is the CEO of Secure Motors, he has barely sold not more than four vehicles this year because it is not affordable to Ghanaians due to the high cost of charges at the ports.

He advocated for a fixed dollar rate for used car dealers in the country to enable them make sales and eke out a living from the sector.

“Mercedes Benz C-250’s duty is GH¢110,000, while that of Honda C-RV is GH¢130,000 and  Toyota Rav 4 2020 and 2021 editions cost GH¢180,000 to clear from the ports,” he stated.

He noted that because of the fluctuations in the exchange rate, they are unable to make specific budgets for clearing vehicles at the port.

“Now the cost of duties imposed on imported used vehicles is more than 100 per cent and we are appealing to the government to slash the amount paid at the ports on used cars’ he stated.

He maintained that for the members of the Used Car Dealers Associations, the growth of the business in terms of profit and loss is largely on duties paid on the vehicles and that is the most important feature of the association.