Freight forwarders, importers raise concern over Publican AI • System flags only values lower than minimum global average — Ministry of Finance
A coalition of freight forwarders, importers, exporters, and trade associations has raised serious concerns over the deployment of the Publican AI system by the Ministry of Finance at the ports, describing it as a major setback to trade facilitation.
At a joint press conference on Monday, March 30, 2026, in the port city, Tema, in the Greater Accra Region, the coalition warned that the AI-based valuation system, known as Publican Trade Solution, threatened lawful trade, investor confidence and the country’s standing as a regional trade hub.
Members emphasised that revenue generation should not come at the expense of predictable and transparent trade processes.
The coalition comprises the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, Association of Custom House Agents Ghana, Traders Advocacy Group Ghana, Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana, and the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana.
EXIM Frozen Foods Association of Ghana, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana Union of Traders' Associations (GUTA), the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), and the Concerned Freight Forwarders and Traders Association of Ghana, said the system was negatively impacting trade facilitation across the country.
Ministry responds
However, the Ministry of Finance, has stated that the process of selecting Publican involved performance of proof of concept, where the developer worked with five big importer companies and applied the sytem to gauge its outcome.
After the concept was proven, the Ministry said the system was again deployed on pilot, roping in many more importers.
The MoF added that parliamentary approval, which is the highest form of scrutiny, had been sought.
Publican services are not revenue assurance; “It is a decision making assistance tool to complement the customs processes. It supports customs officers with the necessary research and data analysis to facilitate fair and accurate decision,” the source at the MoF clarified.
The Ministry also clarified that the system only flagged values that were below the average global values, hence it could not declare higher values other than what the Bill of Entry provides.
For instance, since its intriduction on March 11, this year, Publican Trade Solutions has so far endorsed the clearing of 75.3 per cent of all declarations made to customs and flagged 24.7 per cent as being below the accepted values that pertain to those goods globally.
Arbitrariness
However, the General Secretary of GIFF, Paul K. Mensah, stated that while AI could aid risk management and enforcement, the current implementation lacked transparency and legal alignment.
He said the system imposed AI-derived minimum customs values, creating arbitrary assessments that undermined predictability and disrupted port operations.
Mr Mensah also raised concerns about the re-centralisation of the Customs Technical Bureau Service (CTSB), which had reportedly slowed clearance times and increased congestion.
The Executive Secretary of the EXIM Frozen Foods Association of Ghana and Convenor of the coalition, Micheal Obiri-Adjei, cited Section 68 of Act 891, which prohibited charging duties based on alternative assessments.
He said under the new policy, where the Publican AI valuations were higher than human assessments, it was accepted but ignored if lower, creating unpredictability that threatens business planning, investment, and the affordability of goods.
The coalition demanded the immediate suspension of the Publican AI system, a return to transactional values, disclosure of all technical documentation, an independent audit, stakeholder consultations, and strict adherence to the law.
Other stakeholders
The President of the Association of Custom House Agents (ACHAG), Yaw Kyei, said the Publican AI rollout lacked stakeholder consultation and could trigger smuggling, under-invoicing, and operational chaos if left unaddressed.
Mr Kyei indicated that the existing Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) had been performing effectively, consistently helping the country meet its revenue targets.
He questioned the rationale behind replacing or altering a system that was already delivering results.
“If ICUMS is doing very well and we are meeting our targets almost every year, why change a winning team? What are the reasons?” he asked.
Further responses
The government fully rolled out a new customs classification and valuation system at its ports of entry on March 11, this year that the Ghana Revenue Authority and its parent ministry, MoF, said had so far proven to be a revenue saver the country.
The Publican Trade Solution, an artificial intelligence (AI) based software, helps customs officers to determine the real value of imported goods declared into the customs system.
Briefing a section of journalists in Accra about its performance so far, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, said after a pilot deployment at the port of Tema last month, Publican was able to flag many declarations that provided on an average of $3 million a day.
So far, some of the issues being flagged include under-declarations and remitting or making bigger payments higher the values declared on the import declaration forms.
The Deputy Minister of Finance was supported by the Commissioner-General of the GRA, George Kwasi Sarpong, as well as scheduled officers from the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Division of the GRA.
The system aggregates data from multiple international trade sources in real time, comparing values of the same goods from same sources to determine discrepancies in declaration or confirm them.
It, therefore, helps customs officers doing classification and valuation to arrive at decisions in just about five minutes, a departure from the previous system when the same task was completed in about two hours.
A decision-making and risk management tool, Publican does not replace the ICUMS, which is the main interface used for declarations, classification, valuation and clearing of goods at Ghana’s ports of entry, but augments other systems and helps the customs officers to make decisions concerning the real and actual values of imports, hence helping to safeguard revenues.
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