RICE HEAP AT ELUBO -- For non-payment of tariffs (LEAD STORY)

Truck loads of imported rice have been locked up at the Elubo Border for the past four weeks as a result of the inability of the small-scale importers of the commodity to pay the appropriate tariffs imposed by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS).
Some of the importers told the Daily Graphic at the border that they had been unable to raise the money because what CEPS was asking them to pay was higher than what pertained at the Tema Port.
They claimed that CEPS had directed them to pay a unit price of $0.97 per kilogramme for the imported perfumed rice, while broken rice attracted $0.42 per kilogramme.
According to the importers, their counterparts who imported through the Tema Port were made to pay $0.41 per kilo for perfumed rice and $0.39 per kilo for broken rice.
They said as a result of the disparity, some importers had resorted to smuggling, thereby denying the State the much needed revenue.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chairman of the Association of Small-Scale Importers, Mr Solomon Kojo Kwesi, demanded an explanation from CEPS as to why all importers, whether using Tema or Elubo, would not be given the same rates.
According to a document sighted by the Daily Graphic, smuggling eased significantly before the introduction of the new tariffs and that as of the end of September this year, revenue for the State at the Elubo Border was 67 per cent above the annual target.
From the document, total revenue collected for the State by CEPS from January to September 2010 when the directive was given amounted to more than GH¢4.3 million, compared to GH¢1.4 million which was collected in 2009 when smuggling was at its peak.
There is a chaotic situation at the Elubo entry point, as the importers who entered the country thinking they would pay the same tariffs as applied at the Tema Port could not go back with their goods, since that would amount to re-exporting, which they said they could not afford.
The small-scale importers said the new development was outrageous and uncompetitive, describing it as a deliberate attempt to ruin their businesses.
When contacted, CEPS officials said they were working on the situation and would soon resolve it.