GRA clarifies GH₵800 duty payment after airport extortion claims

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued a formal clarification regarding allegations of extortion involving Customs officers at the Accra International Airport. The incident, which gained public attention after a passenger reported being asked for money without receiving a receipt, was attributed by the authority to an unexpected system failure during the duty assessment process. According to the GRA, the passenger, Ms. Gifty Osei Bonsu, was required to pay GH₵800 in duty for luggage containing 20 pairs of women's shoes and other items that had been flagged for assessment.

The authority explained that although the passenger deposited the GH₵800 towards her assessment, a downtime in the processing system prevented the immediate issuance of an official receipt before she departed the airport. To resolve the discrepancy and ensure the transaction was properly recorded in the state's accounts, the Customs officers involved reportedly covered a financial shortfall personally to complete the payment once the system was restored. The GRA confirmed that the full amount has since been successfully credited to its accounts, refuting the perception that the money was intended for personal gain or illegal extortion.

In response to the incident, the GRA expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to Ms. Bonsu and offered a formal apology. To prevent similar occurrences in the future, the authority announced that it is implementing new standard operating procedures specifically designed to handle service delivery during system outages. These measures include enhancing direct communication with passengers regarding duty assessments and ensuring that backup manual processes are clearly explained to travelers to maintain transparency and public trust in the Customs division's operations.