Smuggling of petrol impacted on revenue collected on petroleum products by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) in the Upper East Region which fell short by 81.82 per cent during the first quarter of the year.
CEPS collected a total of GH�387,351 out of its target of GH�473,400.
In the area of general custom duty collection, revenue again fell short by 17.44 per cent. CEPS collected GH�688,536 out of its target of GH�834,020 during the first three months of the year. The Upper East Regional Sector Commander, Mr Ganiyou Busare, attributed the fall to smuggling of petroleum products from the region to neighbouring Togo and Burkina Faso, and the Bawku conflict.
Mr Busare said this when the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, visited the CEPS office in Bolgatanga to interact with the personnel.
He said other factors that affected collection of custom duties were smuggling of fertiliser and the farming season, as many people worked on their farms. Mr Busare said the region recorded an excess collection of GH�62,601 of its target of GH�4,140,000 last year. Mr Woyongo said the country needed to step up its internally generated income to be able to meet many of her obligations. The minister called on the staff of the Audit Service that would be auditing the municipal and district assemblies to do their work with diligence. Mr Woyongo also visited the Architectural Engineering Services Company where he told them to ensure that government contracts were supervised to ensure early completion
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