ACCRA: The Ghana Printers and Paper Converters Association, says the 2016 budget should harmonise the Customs and duty laws on the book industry with international agreements.
The Association said such laws needed to be harmonised with the UNESCO Conventions and the Florence Agreement which exempt finished books and the raw materials as well as the inputs for the production of books from customs duty and the payment of VAT.
The Association said this recently during the Stakeholders’ consultative meeting for the 2016 budget held in Accra.
Personalities present at the discussions included Mr Ato Forson, Deputy Minister of Finance; Dr Edward Larbi-Siaw, Director Ministry of Finance; Dr Mensah Bonsu, National Development Planning Commission; Mr Seidu Kotoma, Deputy Controller and Accountant General; and Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Minister of Roads and Highways.
The Association said although government had approved a waiver of Customs Duty and VAT for the printing of textbooks and exercise books, the Gazette notification to give legal effect to the waiver ignored the word ‘inputs’ and used only the supply of paper for the production of exercise and text books.
It said government should also assist some of the printing businesses affected by the June 3 flood and fire disaster.
Mr Patrick Nomo, Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, welcomed the stakeholders saying the gathering was principally to discuss their submissions for the 2016 budget.
Various contributions came from the Association of Road Contractors, Chamber of Mines, ISODEC, SEND-Ghana, African Centre for Economic Policy, UNICEF, GNAT and Penplusbytes.
