The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, has called for the immediate suspension of the Publican AI Revenue System, citing inadequate stakeholder engagement and concerns about the competence of the contractor implementing the system.
Speaking on JoyNews Pulse on 7 April, Mr Baafi linked his call to growing concerns among traders and industry players, insisting that key stakeholders were not sufficiently consulted before the system was introduced.
“The truth of the matter is that the government didn’t do well in the area of stakeholder engagement,” he said. “They must listen to us as a matter of urgency… they have to suspend this Publican AI system immediately.”
He further criticised the company implementing the system, claiming it lacks the technical expertise required for a project of national importance.
According to him, the firm was incorporated in Cyprus in December 2024 and has no prior track record in artificial intelligence or related systems.
“The company… has never undertaken any project anywhere in the world. The first business they are doing is this particular one,” he said, describing the contract as sole-sourced.
Mr Baafi also questioned the methodology used by the AI system to calculate import duties, arguing that it deviates from internationally accepted standards.
“Where in the world do you use median values to calculate import duties?” he asked. “Ghana is a member of the WTO, and there are clear standards for valuation.”
He warned that the system could be in breach of Ghana’s laws, particularly provisions in the Customs Act that outline how import duties should be assessed.
The Publican AI Revenue System, introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority in early 2026, has sparked tension between government authorities and stakeholders at the ports.
A coalition of traders and freight forwarders, including the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders and CropLife Ghana, has issued a one-week ultimatum demanding the suspension of the system over operational concerns.
At the centre of the dispute are claims that the system produces inflated duty values. Some importers have reported sharp increases in duty assessments, rising from about GH¢900,000 to over GH¢2.1 million.
Critics argue that this contradicts Sections 67 and 68 of the Customs Act, 2015, which require duties to be based primarily on transaction value. Instead, the AI system is accused of applying non-transparent benchmark values that may not reflect actual market conditions.
The rollout has also been accompanied by logistical challenges at the ports, including delays linked to the recentralisation of customs processes.
While the Ministry of Finance maintains that the system is necessary to curb an estimated US$31 billion in annual trade revenue leakages, stakeholders insist the policy should be suspended until concerns are addressed.
Mr Baafi warned that proceeding without resolving these issues could place an undue burden on compliant taxpayers.
“We should not create problems for them like that,” he said, adding that the current system risks undermining confidence in Ghana’s revenue collection framework.
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Source:
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