Importing from China to Ghana: what the Standards Authority actually publishes
Ghana checks high risk goods at the point of entry, not before shipment. Importers of high risk goods must register with the Standards Authority, buy the applicable Ghana Standard and file a declaration, and consignments should carry a laboratory certificate of analysis or conformance issued preferably in the exporting country. Without one the goods are tested on arrival at the importer cost.
Most guides describe a mandatory pre-export certificate for Ghana. The Standards Authority's own pages describe conformity assessment at the point of entry.
Start by disbelieving the usual summary, including ours
Search for how to import into Ghana and you will find a confident account of a mandatory pre-export certificate of conformity, obtained in the country of origin, with a penalty of a fixed percentage of the consignment value for arriving without one. That account is sold by inspection companies and repeated widely.
We could not verify it from the Ghana Standards Authority. Its homepage does not mention such a programme, nor does its inspectorate overview, nor does its import inspection page, which is where the procedure for imported goods is actually set out. News reporting has separately indicated the programme was to be suspended. So this page does not tell you it is in force, and quotes no penalty percentage, because we could not read either from the authority itself.
What follows is what the Standards Authority does publish. If someone is selling you a pre-export certificate for Ghana, that may well be correct and current, but ask them to show you where the authority says so, and confirm with your clearing agent before you pay for it. Paying for a certificate that is not required and skipping one that is are both expensive mistakes.
The control is at the point of entry
The Standards Authority describes import inspection as a system to ascertain the quality and safety of products through conformity assessment at their points of entry, and says it has been appointed competent authority for the inspection of high risk goods by the Ministry of Trade and Industry since 2003. Its inspectorate holds accreditation to ISO 17020 for the operation of inspection bodies.
High risk goods are defined as goods with serious health, safety and environmental implications for the consuming public, and the published groupings are broad: food products; pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices; alcoholic and non-alcoholic products; chemicals and allied products; petroleum products; electrical appliances including bulbs, switches, sockets and cables; electrical cables; electronic products; building materials; African textile prints; used goods such as secondhand clothing; pyrotechnic products; motor vehicle batteries; vehicle spare parts; industrial machinery; arms and ammunition; machetes and cutlasses; gas cylinders and accessories; and toys.
There is also an outright prohibition worth knowing before anyone quotes you a price. Under L.I. 1586, no person shall import for commercial purposes or in commercial quantities any of the following where they are second-hand or have been used: handkerchiefs, men's, women's and children's underpants, mattresses, and sanitary ware.
| Step | Whose job | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Register as an importer of high risk goods | The importer | Ghana |
| Purchase the applicable Ghana Standard | The importer | Ghana |
| File the declaration through GCNet | The importer | Ghana |
| Certificate of analysis or conformance against the applicable standard, from a competent laboratory, preferably in the exporting country | Obtained for the consignment | China |
| Visual inspection and sampling by risk rating | The inspector | Point of entry |
| Customs clearance after electronic release by the inspector | Customs | Ghana |
The certificate is a laboratory document, and it is our end of the job
The authority's procedure is that all imported high risk goods should be accompanied by a certificate of analysis or a certificate of conformance, referencing the applicable standard specifications, issued by a competent laboratory preferably in the exporting country. For goods made in China, that preference points squarely at a Chinese laboratory, which is where we work.
The consequence of not having one is stated plainly, and it is a cost and a delay rather than a refusal: failure to provide the certificate means the consignment cannot be cleared until samples have been tested against the applicable standard and found to satisfy the requirements, and the importer pays a processing and testing fee determined from time to time. That is a different shape of risk from Nigeria, where the certificate becomes impossible once the vessel sails.
Note also that the certificate has to be authenticated on arrival, and that the product label must conform to the relevant requirements of the standard. Labelling is decided in the factory, months before anyone in Ghana looks at it, which makes it exactly the kind of thing to settle when the product specification is written rather than when the container is on the water.
Two details that help the schedule
The first is the requirement to purchase the applicable Ghana Standard. It sounds like an administrative nuisance and is actually useful, because it means the specification your factory has to meet exists as a document you can buy, read and send to China. Do that before sampling. A factory working to a standard it has read is a different proposition from one working to a description of it.
The second is a published service limit. Where the Standards Authority is unable to complete conformity assessment on detained high risk goods within 24 hours, the consignment may be considered for provisional release, on the understanding that the goods will not be disposed of until the outcome of the conformity assessment has been determined. That is a real planning fact: a hold is not automatically an open-ended one.
Inspection is risk-rated rather than uniform, with the inspector able to take random samples regardless of the rating of the brand, exporter and importer, partly to build the database that sets future ratings. So a first consignment from an unknown exporter carries more inspection risk than a tenth, which is the same pattern as Turkey and another reason to keep a supplier once one is working.
What we can do for a Ghanaian buyer, and what we cannot
The China-end work is the laboratory certificate and the labelling: finding and vetting the factory, getting the applicable Ghana Standard in front of it before sampling, arranging testing at a competent laboratory in China so the certificate references the right standard, checking the label against the standard's requirements, and making sure the goods tested are the goods that ship. Then the ordinary work of negotiating, sampling, inspecting before payment and loading.
On commercial terms, we can quote a price to your own destination port, so Tema or Takoradi, and ex-works or a price to a Chinese port is there instead if your own freight forwarder is handling the sea leg. Door-to-door with duty and taxes included depends on the destination; ask, and we will tell you plainly which one applies.
What we do not do is register you with the Standards Authority, file your declaration, advise on Ghanaian import law or act as your customs broker. Registration, the declaration and clearance through the customs system are yours, in Ghana. This page quotes no Ghanaian duty rate, because no Ghanaian tariff source was opened and checked. Tell us the product and say the goods are going to Ghana in the first message, because whether it is a high risk good changes what has to happen in China. The wider picture is in the guide to buying from China from anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Does Ghana require a pre-export certificate of conformity?
We could not verify that it does. The Ghana Standards Authority's own import inspection pages describe conformity assessment at the point of entry and ask for a laboratory certificate of analysis or conformance to accompany high risk goods. No pre-export programme appears on its site. If a provider says otherwise, ask where the authority says so and check with your clearing agent.
What happens if goods arrive without the certificate?
The Standards Authority states the consignment cannot be cleared until samples of the product have been tested against the applicable standard and found to satisfy the requirements, with the importer paying a processing and testing fee determined from time to time. It is a cost and a delay, not a refusal of entry.
What counts as a high risk good in Ghana?
Goods with serious health, safety and environmental implications. The published groupings include food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices, alcoholic and non-alcoholic products, chemicals, petroleum products, electrical appliances and cables, electronic products, building materials, African textile prints, used goods, pyrotechnics, vehicle batteries and spare parts, industrial machinery, arms and ammunition, machetes, gas cylinders and toys.
How long can goods be held for inspection?
Where the Standards Authority is unable to complete conformity assessment on detained high risk goods within 24 hours, the consignment may be considered for provisional release, on the understanding that the goods will not be disposed of until the outcome of the assessment has been determined.