Importers of second hand electronic gadgets will from 1st October pay levies on the products they import into the country.
This follows the strict enforcement of the Advance Eco Levy factored in section 917 of the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management, Act 2016.
Per the implementation, an External Service Provider, Société General Du Serviellance, (SGS), a multinational company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, will take inventory of goods in their country of origin and charge importers before the goods leave that country for Ghana.
This is different from the duties the importers will pay when their goods arrive at the port.
Those going to pay the Levy also include people who assemble electrical products in the country.
The implementation of the Levy is expected to generate $100 million annually to government.
Explaining the new Levy to Citi Business News, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Frimpong Boateng said the enforcement of the law is in line with the global Basel Convention which Ghana signed with other countries in 2003 to control transboundary movement of Hazardous waste.
He explained that the lack of an external service provider with the capacity to take the Levy in every country, delayed the enforcement of the law.
“I went to work, doing the necessary consultations as required by law. The president and his cabinet approved a memorandum that my ministry submitted SGS as the External Service Provider,” he stated.
Government subsequently signed the agreement with SGS on July 19,2018.
As part of the agreement, SGS will also build an e-waste recycling plant near Agbogbloshie to address the challenge of e-waste dumping in the country.
Stakeholder consultations have began to sensitized the public ahead of the implementation.
Citinewsroom