ICUMS raked in Gh¢16bn in 2021 – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disclosed that the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) raked in GH¢16.08 billion in customs revenue in 2021.

President Nana Akufo-Addo disclosed this in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) he delivered to Parliament on Wednesday 30th March 2022.

“PAPSS means a trader in Ghana can order supplies in Kenya with cedis and buy it in Kenyan shillings and not have to go through dollars or Euros or pounds sterling.”

“This will simplify the historical complexities and costs of making payments across African borders and provide operational efficiencies to open up vast economic opportunities for all stakeholders,” he added.

The Government, the Customs Division of the GRA, UNIPASS-Ghana and other well-meaning agencies joined up in 2020 to usher Ghana’s trade to a single-window system; the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

Functioning fully as an e-Customs system, it was introduced to coordinate cross-border trade activities, cut costs to stakeholders and increase government revenue mobilisation.

The change stemmed from the rising cost of port transactions, delayed clearance of goods and what the government deemed, ‘a huge leakage in revenue mobilisation.’

Another challenge stakeholders faced was the use of multiple online platforms in assessing valuation, classification, risk management and payment; which were jointly managed by the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet) Ltd and West Blue Consulting at the time.

The innovation was launched to revive the trade sector and came as a direct successor of the former Pre-Arrival Assessment Report System (PAARS) and the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS).

As a single window for processing documents and payments, the ICUMS allows users to create a Unique Consignment Reference (UCR), an exclusive number for easy identification and tracking of all cargo.

It provides all needed assistance on one platform without the need to switch between different systems to access varied services.

ICUMS also features a stand-by human resource management model that identifies officers assigned to a consignment and records the period in which activities on the consignment were carried out.

The System also streamlines the tracing of missing cargoes and features end-to-end tracking that does not allow operators to tamper with figures.