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ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
Regulation
1. Custom House Agents to be
licensed
2. Application for licence
3. Notice of application
4. Qualifications of applicant
5. Examinations
6. Refund of fees
7. Grant of licences
8. Notice of refusal of licence
9. Appeal against refusal
10. Display of licence
11. Custom House Agents to have
fixed premises and keep records,
etc.
12. Agent not to obstruct
inspection or discovery of
documents
13. Notification of change of
name, address, etc.
14. Prohibition of malpractices
15. Revocation and suspension of
licence
16. Proceedings for revocation or
suspension of licence
17. Appeal against suspension or
revocation of licence
18. Special provision in relation
to ex-customs officials
19. Renewal of licence
20. Offences and penalty
21. Interpretation
22. Commencement.
IN exercise of the powers
conferred on the Commissioner by
section 7 of the Custom House
Agents (Licensing) Decree, 1978 (S.M.C.D.
188) these Regulations are made
this 20th day of October, 1978.
Regulation 1—Custom House Agents
to be Licensed.
No person shall engage in the
business of custom house agent
except under licence granted by
the Comptroller or otherwise
authorised by or under these
Regulations.
Regulation 2—Application for
Licence.
(1) An application for a licence
in Customs Form C-AL 1 set out in
the Schedule to these Regulations
shall be made in duplicate to the
Comptroller and shall be submitted
not later than thirty days before
the date of the examination
referred to in paragraph 5 of
these Regulations accompanied by a
fee of ¢2,000.00.
(2) The application shall also
include the following particulars,
namely—
(a) name and address of
applicant;
(b) business name of applicant,
if any;
(c) place of business of
applicant;
(d) age of applicant,
together with certificate of good
character referred to in paragraph
4 of these Regulations.
Regulation 3—Notice of
Application.
Upon receipt of the application
the Comptroller shall as soon as
possible publish a notice in the
Commercial and Industrial Bulletin
and in any conspicuous place at
the custom house nearest the place
of business of the applicant and
at the headquarters of the Customs
and Excise Department for a period
of not less than fourteen days,
indicating that the application
has been received and stating the
time and place of the examination
aforementioned.
Regulation 4—Qualifications of
Applicant.
Subject to regulations 2 and 5 of
these Regulations, no licence
shall be granted to any person
unless he is—
(a) a citizen of Ghana;
(b) not less than 21 years of
age;
(c) of good character and business
integrity certified by any
association of custom house agents
of which the applicant is a
registered member; and
(d) knowledgeable in customs and
related laws to an extent which
appears to the Comptroller to be
sufficient to enable the applicant
to render valuable service to
importers and exporters.
Regulation 5—Examinations.
(1) The test of an applicant's
knowledge of customs and related
laws shall be by examination which
may be written or oral or both.
(2) The Examination shall be held
once a year on the first Saturday
in June but the Comptroller may
hold an additional examination in
any year if—
(a) there appear to him
sufficient reason so to do; and
(b) he notifies the applicant
within thirty days of his
intention to hold additional
examination.
(3) After an applicant has passed
the examination, the Comptroller
shall conduct investigations to
verify the accuracy of pertinent
statements made by him in his
application, and, for that purpose
the Comptroller shall have power
to summon the applicant to appear
before him to answer any questions
pertaining to the application.
(4) Notwithstanding the
provisions of sub-paragraph (3) of
this paragraph, the Comptroller
shall submit each application to
the Special Branch of the Ghana
Police Force who shall vet the
applicant and submit the
application and a report on him to
the Comptroller.
Regulation 6—Refund of Fees.
The application fee of ¢2,000.00
shall not be refundable except
under the following conditions,
that is to say:
(a) where an applicant wishes to
withdraw his application and has,
before the date of the
examination, notified the
Comptroller accordingly a refund
shall be made of the whole fee
less the amount of ¢100.00; and
(b) where an applicant fails to
appear for the examination without
notifying the Comptroller in
advance, one-half of the amount
may be refunded.
Regulation 7—Grant of Licences.
(1) If the Comptroller finds that
an applicant is qualified having
regard to the provisions of
paragraph 4 of these Regulations,
and that there has been no
misstatement of any pertinent
facts in his application, he shall
grant the licence but shall refuse
to grant the licence in any other
case.
(2) The licence shall be in
Customs Form C-AL.2 set out in the
Schedule to these Regulations.
Regulation 8—Notice of Refusal of
Licence.
(1) If the Comptroller refuses to
grant a licence to an applicant he
shall notify the applicant in
writing accordingly.
(2) The Comptroller shall state in
the notice of refusal the grounds
of his refusal.
(3) Subject to sub-paragraphs (4)
of this paragraph where the
Comptroller has refused to grant a
licence to an applicant that
applicant shall not re-apply for a
licence until after the expiration
of twelve months commencing from
the date the Comptroller has
notified him of his refusal to
grant the licence.
(4) Where an appeal made against
the decision of the Comptroller
under paragraph 9 of these
Regulations is determined in
favour of an applicant he may
re-apply to the Comptroller for a
licence within fourteen days after
the determination of the appeal.
Regulation 9—Appeal Against
Refusal.
(1) Any person aggrieved by the
refusal of the Comptroller to
grant him a licence may, within
twenty-eight days of the
notification thereof, appeal in
writing to the Commissioner
against such refusal and the
decision of the Commissioner shall
be final.
(2) The appeal shall state
concisely the grounds of appeal.
Regulation 10—Display of Licence.
Every custom house agent shall
display his licence at a
conspicuous place in his principal
business premises and where the
agent has subsidiary business
premises a photocopy of the
licence shall be conspicuously
posted in such premises.
Regulation 11—Custom House Agents
to Have Fixed Premises and Keep
Records, etc.
(1) Every custom house agent
shall have permanent business
premises where he shall keep true
and accurate records of all his
transactions as a customs house
agent including—
(a) records of accounts
reflecting all his financial
transactions as custom house
agent;
(b) a copy each of every entry
made by him together with all
supporting documents except those
documents which are required to be
filed with the custom authorities;
and
(c) copies of all correspondence
and other documents relating to
his business as a custom house
agent.
(2) The records, including
supporting documents, if any,
shall be retained by the custom
house agent for at least two years
after the entry or export of the
goods to which they relate.
(3) Any part of the records to
which this paragraph applies which
pertains to the business of any
client shall be regarded as
confidential and the contents
thereof or any information,
relating thereto, shall not be
disclosed to any person except
such client, or his authorised
agent, the Comptroller or his
authorised agents or other public
officers in the course of their
employment, or in compliance with
any subpoena of a court of
competent jurisdiction.
Regulation 12—Agent not to
Obstruct Inspection or Discovery
Documents.
A
custom house agent shall not
obstruct or hinder the Comptroller
or any person authorised in that
behalf by him to inspect or to
reproduce any part of the records
or documents which a custom house
agent is required under
sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 11
of these Regulations to keep.
Regulation 13—Notification of
Change of Name, Address etc.
When there is a change in the
name, address or any other
particulars required for the
purpose of paragraph 2 of these
Regulations, the custom house
agent shall, not later than
fourteen days from the date of
such change, notify the
Comptroller of the change.
Regulation 14—Prohibition of
Malpractices.
(1) A custom house agent shall in
the conduct of his business avoid
any malpractice or unethical
conduct.
(2) Without prejudice to the
generality of sub-paragraph (1) of
this paragraph a custom house
agent shall not in the conduct of
his business as such—
(a) knowingly file or procure any
false claim, affidavit or other
documents or give, solicit or
procure the giving of any false or
misleading information on in any
matter pending before the
Comptroller or any other public
officer;
(b) procure, directly or
indirectly, information from
Government records or other
Government sources of any kind to
which access is not granted by
proper authority;
(c) enter into any agreement to
transact any business of customs
in such manner that the fees and
other remuneration resulting from
the services rendered are received
by or shall otherwise accrue to
the benefit of, an unlicensed
person;
(d) permit his licence or his
name to be used by any person who
is not licensed under these
Regulations or any person whose
licence has been suspended for the
promotion or performance of any
business of customs, except his
own employees authorised to act
for him;
(e) knowingly make any
misrepresentations to procure
employment in any customs business
or represent to a client or
prospective client that he can
obtain any favour from the
Comptroller or other public
officer, in connection with any
business;
(f) withhold information relating
to any custom business from a
client who is entitled to the
information, but shall in every
case exercise due diligence to
ascertain the correctness of any
information which he imparts to a
client and shall not knowingly
impart any false information
relating to any customs business;
(g) advise a client to execute, or
submit, any document in connection
with any customs matter which is
erroneous or defective in any
material particular; or
(h) represent any client in any
appeal or protest against any duty
of customs, or sign any cheque
drawn to the order of a client,
without the authority of the
client.
Regulation 15—Revocation and
Suspension of Licence.
(1) A licence granted under these
Regulations may be revoked by the
Comptroller on the grounds that
since the licence was granted to
him the custom house agent—
(a) has committed, or attempted to
commit an offence against any of
the laws relating to the business
of customs;
(b) has been convicted of an
offence punishable under the laws
of Ghana by imprisonment for one
year or longer;
(c) has become an undischarged
bankrupt;
(d) has been found to have made a
false or misleading statement in
his application for the licence;
or
(e) has, in relation to or arising
out of the performance of his
functions as a custom house agent,
been guilty of conduct which is an
abuse of the rights and privileges
attaching to his licence or shown
himself in the opinion of the
Comptroller to be unfit to
continue to be licensed as a
custom house agent.
(2) Suspension of a licence may be
ordered by the Comptroller on the
grounds of failure to comply with
any of the provisions of paragraph
14 of these Regulations and shall
be in force for not more than
twelve months.
(3) A custom house agent whose
licence is revoked may, subject to
the provisions of paragraph 7 of
these Regulations, re-apply for a
licence three years after the date
of revocation.
Regulation 16—Proceedings for
Revocation or Suspension of
Licence.
(1) Every complaint against a
custom house agent, which may be
the basis of disciplinary action
leading to the revocation or
suspension of his licence, shall
be investigated by the Deputy
Comptroller of the port where the
alleged offence was committed.
(2) The Deputy Comptroller shall
report the findings of his
investigation to the Comptroller
with his recommendations and
supporting reason.
(3) If upon the findings of the
Deputy Comptroller the Comptroller
is satisfied that the licence or a
custom house agent must be
suspended or revoked he shall
accordingly in writing notify the
custom house agent concerned.
Regulation 17—Appeal Against
Suspension or Revocation of
Licence.
(1) Any custom house agent
aggrieved by the suspension or
revocation of his licence shall
within twenty -eight days after
such suspension or revocation
appeal to the Commissioner whose
decision on the matter shall be
final.
(2) An appeal under this paragraph
shall operate as a stay of the
decision suspending or revoking
the licence of the agent.
Regulation 18—Special Provision in
Espect of Ex-customs Officials.
The provisions of paragraphs 4 and
5 of these Regulations shall not
apply to any Ghanaian seeking a
licence under these Regulations if
he has been employed as an officer
in the Department of Customs and
Excise for not less than fifteen
years and has left that Department
honourably with a rank not below
that of a senior Collector.
Regulation 19—Renewal of Licence.
(1) Every licence granted under
these Regulations shall be renewed
for every year in which the holder
wishes to continue his business as
custom house agent.
(2) The Comptroller may renew a
licence if, upon application
thereof, he is satisfied that the
applicant is not disqualified,
having regard to paragraph 4 of
these Regulations.
(3) An application for a renewal
shall be accompanied by a fee of
¢500.00. [Subreg.(3) amended by
LI 1281 reg.1.]
Regulation 20—Offences and
Penalty.
(1) Any person who contravenes the
provisions of paragraph 1 of these
Regulations shall be guilty of an
offence and liable on conviction,
to a fine not exceeding ¢1,000.00;
and in addition, the court may
make any order it deems necessary
for restraining the person
convicted from operating as a
custom house agent.
(2) Where the offence is committed
by a body of persons then—
(a) where the body of persons is a
body corporate, every director or
officer of that body corporate
shall be deemed to be guilty of
that offence, and
(b) where the body of persons is a
firm, every partner of that firm
shall be deemed guilty, unless the
director, officer or member, as
the case may be, proves that the
offence was committed without his
knowledge or that he exercised due
diligence to prevent the
commission of the offence.
Regulation 21—Interpretation.
In these Regulations, unless the
context otherwise requires—
"business of customs" has the
meaning assigned to it in the
Decree;
"custom house agent" has the same
meaning as in the Decree;
"port" has the same meaning as in
the Custom House Agent (Licensing)
Decree, 1978 (S.M.C.D. 188).
Regulation 22—Commencement.
These Regulations shall come into
force on the same day as the
Custom House Agent (Licensing)
Decree, 1978 (S.M.C.D. 188).
COL. E. T. OKLAH
Commissioner for Finance
Date of Gazette Notification: 1st
December, 1978. |
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