The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), in collaboration with key national trading bodies, has called for the immediate review or suspension of the Publican Artificial Intelligence (Al) valuation system being deployed at the country's ports.

The coalition includes the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), Traders Advocacy Group Ghana (TAGG), Customs Brokers Association of Ghana (CUBAG), Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana (FFAG), Association of Customs House Agents Ghana (ACHAG), the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Exim Frozen Foods.

Mr Paul K. Mensah, the General Secretary of GIFF, addressing a press conference at Tema, said the current directive governing the application of the Al system in customs valuation, must be reviewed in line with international valuation rules and Ghana's legal framework.

Mr Mensah called for the urgent establishment and operationalisation of an independent and accessible appeals mechanism, as well as the decentralisation of valuation processes to eliminate delays and associated costs.

Mr Mensah also emphasised the need for broader stakeholder engagement involving freight forwarders, traders and industry experts to ensure a balanced and lawful implementation of the transit regime and other new government policies.

He further urged full alignment of all interventions with the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891), and other applicable laws, rather than what he described as "arbitrariness" in the current system.
The coalition also called for a downward review of fees and charges imposed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), citing the cumulative burden on traders.

The group raised serious technical concerns about the system's ability to fairly value used and non-standard goods, such as vehicle engines sourced from scrap markets.

They said such items did not conform to uniform pricing benchmarks and required contextual human judgement, which the Al system appeared unable to adequately accommodate.
They questioned how the system could determine the extent of usage of second-hand goods for valuation. purposes.

The coalition also warned of the risk of embedded over-valuation within the system, noting that distorted global trade data, often linked to illicit financial flows and money laundering, could be incorporated into the Al model.

They argued that this could result in inflated benchmark values being imposed on legitimate traders.

Mr Mensah stated that the directive effectively imposed Al-generated values as minimum thresholds for customs valuation, a practice that was inconsistent with Sections 67 and 68 of the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891), which establish transaction value as the primary basis for valuation and prescribe a sequential methodology for alternative methods.

He added that the approach also contravened internationally accepted customs valuation principles under the World Customs Organisation framework, which prohibits the use of arbitrary or minimum values.

"This has resulted in excessive and unsustainable duty assessments on traders," he said.

The coalition reiterated its support for lawful enforcement, revenue mobilisation and the use of technology in trade governance but stressed that such systems must be transparent, legally compliant and responsive to the realities of trade operations.