Ghana wants you to export. The tax system reflects that: there is no general export duty, and exports are zero-rated for VAT, which means you can reclaim the VAT you paid on inputs rather than passing it on.
The difficulty is not the tax. It is the paperwork, the standards, and being able to supply consistently.
Traditional and non-traditional exports
Ghana divides exports into traditional — cocoa beans, gold, timber logs, electricity — each with its own marketing board or regulator and a tightly controlled regime, and non-traditional, which is everything else and where a new exporter almost certainly sits.
GEPA, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, is the agency for the second group and the sensible first phone call.
What you need before your first shipment
- A registered business. A business name or a limited company, with a TIN — Registering a business
- Exporter registration with GEPA
- A bank account that can receive foreign currency — Opening a bank account
- HS code classification for your product, because the buyer’s customs will use it
- The product-specific permits below
The permit depends entirely on the product
This is where exporters lose months. Work out which regulator owns your product before you find a buyer, not after.
| Product | Who has to approve it |
|---|---|
| Food, beverages, cosmetics, supplements | FDA |
| Agricultural produce, plants, seeds | Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate, for a phytosanitary certificate |
| Fish and seafood | Fisheries Commission, plus a competent-authority health certificate |
| Handicrafts, textiles, processed goods | GSA for standards and conformity |
| Timber and wood products | Forestry Commission and the Timber Industry Development Division |
| Minerals | Minerals Commission and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company |
| Cocoa | COCOBOD |
A certificate of origin is issued for goods qualifying under a trade agreement, and it is what gets your buyer a lower duty rate at the far end. It is worth real money to them, so it is worth getting right.
The Ghana Customs side
The export declaration goes through ICUMS, as an import does. Your declaration needs the invoice, the packing list, the permits, and the certificate of origin where one applies.
There is no general export duty (0%), but specific commodities carry their own levies through their regulator, and unprocessed exports of some products are deliberately discouraged in favour of processing them here.
Getting paid, and the Bank of Ghana
Export proceeds are repatriated through the banking system, and your bank will want the export documentation to match the money arriving. Keep the declaration, the invoice and the bill of lading together.
Agree payment terms that a small exporter can survive. A letter of credit protects you; ninety days’ credit to a buyer you have never met does not.
AfCFTA
The African Continental Free Trade Area, whose secretariat is in Accra, is the reason a Ghanaian producer should be thinking about Lagos and Abidjan before London. Tariff preferences under it depend on meeting rules of origin and having the certificate to prove it.
The market is closer, the shipping is cheaper, and the standards regime is more forgiving than the European one. It is the realistic first export market for most small producers.
Be honest about capacity
The most common failure is not regulatory. It is winning an order for a container a month and being able to make half of one.
Quote what you can supply. A buyer who is disappointed once does not come back.