The World Customs Organization (WCO) has advised that under the framework of the European Union (EU)-WCO Rules of Origin (ROO) Africa Programme, in partnership with Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), it held an advanced training workshop on RoO for Ghana Customs. The workshop was held in Accra, Ghana, from 30 September 2024 to 04 October 2024 with the objective of assisting Ghana customs in enhancing its knowledge and application of preferential RoO and contributing to the seamless implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other relevant Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
In his opening remarks, on behalf of the GRA Commissioner of Customs, the Deputy Commissioner of Operations thanked the WCO and the EU for their continued support in building capacity. He recalled that GRA had embarked on the critical journey of capacity building on RoO last year and that the current workshop would allow selected participants to gain the needed skills and understanding of the topic to impact the future of GRA. He also stressed the need to impart the knowledge to colleagues and thus contribute to the collective will to ensure that revenue targets are met.
During the workshop, participants gained a deeper understanding of key concepts for proper origin determination, including possible flexibilities such as cumulation, tolerance rules and the absorption principle, as well as related operational and procedural issues, including origin certification and verification. Case studies made the concepts more tangible and relatable. They allowed the participants to detangle the spaghetti bowl of RoO in various FTAs applicable in Ghana. Participants also had the opportunity to observe the practical application and management of RoO through a field visit to a factory manufacturing baby food, cereals, instant coffee, and chocolate beverages, among other products, for the local Ghanaian market and also exports to countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, other African countries, some European countries etc.
The EU-WCO RoO Africa Programme will continue its work with GRA to equip customs officials with extended knowledge for efficient implementation and application of RoO. As a next step, the programme will conduct a training of trainers which will pave the way for Customs to disseminate their knowledge to colleagues and other relevant stakeholders.