Ghana Import Duty Calculator

Q: How is import duty calculated in Ghana?

Import duty is charged on the CIF value (cost plus insurance plus freight) under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which Ghana operates as five bands: 0% for essential social goods, 5% for basic necessities and raw materials, 10% for semi-finished goods, 20% for finished consumer goods and 35% for specific goods. The ECOWAS Levy (0.5%), African Union Levy (0.2%), EXIM Levy (0.75%) and Special Import Levy (2%) are charged on CIF, while NHIL and the GETFund Levy (2.5% each) are charged on the duty-inclusive value and VAT (15%) is charged on CIF plus duty plus NHIL plus GETFund.

Q: How much duty will I pay to clear a car in Ghana?

Duty on cars depends on fuel type and engine capacity. Petrol cars pay 5% up to 1000cc, 10% from 1000cc to 3000cc and 20% above 3000cc. Diesel cars pay 5% up to 1500cc, 10% from 1500cc to 2500cc and 20% above 2500cc. Pick-ups and buses carrying ten or more people pay 5% and motorcycles pay 20%. Customs values the car from the manufacturer's original price less 0 to 50% depreciation for age, then adds freight and insurance to reach the CIF value.

Q: What is the penalty for importing an old car into Ghana?

Vehicles over 10 years old from their year of manufacture attract an overage penalty charged on the CIF value: 5% at 10 to 12 years, 20% at 12 to 15 years, 50% at 15 to 25 years, 70% at 25 to 35 years and 100% beyond 35 years. Agricultural tractors, ambulances, hearses and special-purpose vehicles are not liable to the overage penalty.

Q: Was the COVID-19 levy removed from Ghana import duty?

Yes. The VAT Act, 2025 (Act 1151), effective 1 January 2026, abolished the 1% COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, so it no longer appears on an import bill.

Estimate the total landed cost of importing goods or a vehicle into Ghana. Every charge is itemised on the rates and bases published by the Ghana Revenue Authority, including the levies most calculators leave out.

Landed-cost calculator

CIF value (GH₵) Import duty band (by HS code)

Charge	Rate	Charged on	Amount (GH₵)
Total taxes & levies
Estimated landed cost

What this does not include. Duties and levies are only part of the bill. On top of the figure above you will still pay third-party charges that Customs does not collect: shipping-line charges, terminal handling, safe-bond terminal rent, a trade number plate (GH₵154 for vehicles), clearing-agent fees, and demurrage if the goods sit too long. The final duty is set by Customs from the HS code and the valuation on your ICUMS assessment, not by any calculator.

How Ghana calculates import duty

Everything starts with the CIF value: the cost of the goods plus insurance plus freight, converted to cedis at the Customs exchange rate. Import duty is then charged under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which Ghana operates as five bands: 0% for essential social goods, 5% for basic necessities, raw materials, capital goods and specific inputs, 10% for inputs and semi-finished goods, 20% for finished consumer goods, and 35% for specific goods for economic development. The band is decided by the HS code, so the exact classification of your goods matters more than the general category.

The part importers get wrong is the base each charge sits on, because they are not all the same. The ECOWAS Levy (0.5%), African Union Import Levy (0.2%), EXIM Levy (0.75%), Special Import Levy (2%) and, for used vehicles, the Examination Fee (1%) are all charged on the CIF value. The overage penalty on older vehicles is also charged on CIF. But VAT is charged on the duty-inclusive value, which per the GRA is CIF plus import duty plus NHIL plus the GETFund Levy. That is why the effective add-on is far higher than a naive sum of the percentages suggests.

The VAT Act, 2025 (Act 1151), in force from 1 January 2026, abolished the 1% COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, so it no longer appears on an import bill. Note that the GRA's published vehicle table still shows VAT at the old 12.5% rate; the current standard VAT rate is 15%, which is what this calculator applies.

Importing a vehicle

A vehicle's CIF is not what you paid for it. The GRA starts from the manufacturer's original price when the car was built, applies a depreciation of 0% to 50% based on the age of the vehicle to arrive at the Free On Board (FOB) value, converts that at the current exchange rate, and only then adds freight and insurance to reach CIF. So a cheap auction buy does not produce a cheap duty bill: Customs values the car, you do not.

Duty on cars is set by fuel type and engine capacity. Petrol cars pay 5% up to 1000cc, 10% from 1000cc to 3000cc, and 20% above 3000cc. Diesel cars pay 5% up to 1500cc, 10% from 1500cc to 2500cc, and 20% above 2500cc. Pick-ups and buses carrying ten or more people pay 5%. Motorcycles pay 20%.

A vehicle over 10 years old from its year of manufacture attracts an overage penalty on the CIF value: 5% at 10 to 12 years, 20% at 12 to 15 years, 50% at 15 to 25 years, 70% at 25 to 35 years, and 100% beyond 35 years. Agricultural tractors, ambulances, hearses and special-purpose vehicles are not liable to the overage penalty. The examination fee is charged on used vehicles only. Right-hand-drive vehicles are not permitted without a dispensation from the Minister of Trade.

Sources: GRA, Customs Tariffs and Levies (gra.gov.gh/customs/customs-tariffs-and-levies) for the ECOWAS CET five-band schedule and the list of levies; GRA, Vehicle Importation (gra.gov.gh/customs/vehicle-importation) for the vehicle duty table by fuel type and engine capacity, the VAT base rule (VAT on CIF + Duty + NHIL + GETFund), the CIF-based overage penalty, the used-vehicle examination fee, third-party charges and the trade-plate fee; VAT Act, 2025 (Act 1151), effective 1 January 2026, for the abolition of the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy. Official tools: the GRA General Goods and Used Vehicle duty calculators on ICUMS. Verified July 2026.