The information on exporters registered in Ghana for purposes of preferential origin is available on the ICUMS (Integrated Customs Management System) website.

The exporter's registration number consists of 17 alphanumeric characters. It is represented by the prefix "GHEU" followed by the Tax Identification Number (TIN) or the National Identification Number (NID) of the exporter.

Example with TIN: GHEU00C1234567890.

Example with NID: GHEUGHA1234567890.

That said, it appears that, after applying for registration, the exporters are obtaining a prescribed Declaration of Origin from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), through the ICUMS website, the intention of which is to use it as proof of origin to request a preferential tariff treatment for imports in the EU.

However, neither the procedure nor the document comply with Protocol No. 1, mainly section 2 of article 17 and section 4 of article 21, which requires the exporter to issue the declaration of origin with an invoice, delivery note or any other commercial document including, whether typed, stamped or printed, the statement contained in Annex IV of this Protocol. In this case, the declaration of origin is not issued by the exporter, but by the GRA, and it is not issued using a valid document, which thus must be rejected.
 Therefore, only declarations of origin that are issued in accordance with section 2 of article 17 and article 21 of Protocol No. 1 are valid, that is,

• when they are issued by the exporter with an invoice, delivery note or any other commercial document including, whether typed, stamped or printed, the statement contained in Annex IV of this Protocol, provided that:

  1. it is an exporter registered in accordance with the procedure established by Ghana

  2. it is an exporter that is not required to be registered whose shipments include originating goods the value of which does not exceed 6,000 euros.