The Commissioner of Customs at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Aaron Kanor, has cautioned travelers arriving in Ghana to refrain from carrying more than two mobile phones, warning that any excess items will be classified as commercial importations subject to duty.
Speaking to journalists at the Kotoka International Airport, Mr Kanor clarified that while each individual is legally entitled to a single device, Customs officers will accommodate up to two phones per traveler to cover personal use and a partner.
He highlighted a growing trend where arrivals bring in multiple high-end devices collected from friends and relatives overseas, noting that transporting up to seven phones crosses the threshold into commercial-scale importing.
“If Ama gives you one phone, Kofi gives you one phone, and you carry all seven phones and you arrive, it will amount to commercial, because you as an individual you are entitled to one,” he said.
“We implore that when you are coming home you do not collect people’s things. If you collect them and they are beyond two – one individual you can only carry two, one for yourself and one for your wife – but beyond that it amounts to commercial.”
Mr Kanor further emphasized that many of these imported devices, particularly the latest iPhone and Samsung models, carry significant retail value, making the sector a vital target for state revenue collection at the ports.
He noted that the increasing value of high-end smartphones makes them an important source of customs revenue when they are imported commercially.
The warning forms part of intensified checks by Customs on electronic devices being brought into the country through the airport.
Travellers have therefore been urged to declare additional handsets to Customs rather than attempting to bring them into Ghana as personal effects.
GRA Customs is also cautioning travellers to avoid carrying multiple phones on behalf of friends, relatives or other individuals, as such arrangements could result in the devices being classified as commercial imports and attracting the applicable duties.
