The Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has mounted strong opposition to the Ghana Standards Authority’s new Ghana Easy Pass Programme.
The report indicates that the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) has mounted strong opposition to the Ghana Standards Authority’s new Ghana Easy Pass Programme.
It further notes that it warned that the policy will increase the cost of doing business, raise consumer prices and undermine the government’s pledge to improve the business climate.
In a statement issued on Monday, July 6, the association described the mandatory pre-export conformity verification regime for imported goods as an unnecessary burden on businesses already grappling with rising operating costs.
FABAG stated it “expresses its strongest condemnation of the decision by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to introduce the Ghana Easy Pass Programme, a mandatory pre-export conformity verification regime for imported products destined for Ghana.”
The association questioned the rationale for introducing what it considers another layer of regulation, when existing state institutions are already responsible for ensuring product quality and safety.
“It is difficult to understand why government would seek to impose another layer of bureaucracy and cost on importers when existing regulatory institutions are already adequately mandated to ensure product safety and standards,” the statement said.
According to FABAG, agencies including the Food and Drugs Authority, the Ghana Standards Authority, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority already conduct inspections, testing and quality assurance on imported goods.
“If there are operational challenges within these institutions, they should be strengthened, not bypassed through the introduction of another costly programme,” it argued.
The association maintained that the new programme amounts to an additional financial burden on importers.
“This policy is simply adding another tax by another name,” FABAG said, explaining that businesses would now be required to pay additional certification fees, incur extra administrative expenses, face shipment delays and absorb higher compliance costs before goods leave their countries of origin.
It warned that “these costs will inevitably be passed on to the Ghanaian consumer through higher prices.”
FABAG stated businesses are still struggling to recover from previous regulatory reforms and rising operating expenses.
“The ordinary Ghanaian will pay the price. Businesses have barely recovered from the introduction of the AI Publican system and other regulatory reforms that have significantly increased compliance obligations.”
It added that recent increases in electricity and water tariffs, high interest rates, exchange rate volatility, rising transport costs and expensive borrowing have already placed enormous pressure on the private sector.
