Import Duty on Used Clothing in Ghana
Worn clothing, the bales trade Ghanaians call obroni wawu, enters at 20% import duty and is VAT-rated. The full charge stack and a worked example are below.
Used clothing is one single tariff line. HS heading 6309 covers worn clothing and other worn articles, and it carries 20% import duty, the ECOWAS CET band for finished consumer goods. There is no separate cheaper line for bales, and no concession for the second-hand trade in the tariff itself.
The line is VAT-rated, so on top of the 20% duty you pay NHIL, the GETFund Levy and VAT, plus the levies charged directly on CIF. The total lands at about 49% of the CIF value.
The number that catches importers out is not the duty, it is the valuation. Customs does not simply accept the invoice on a bale shipment. If the declared value is below what Customs holds for comparable consignments, the value is uplifted and every charge above is recomputed on the higher figure.
| HS code | Description | Import duty | VAT-rated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6309 (heading) | Worn clothing and other worn articles | 20% | Yes |
Import duty is the ECOWAS CET band and is used as published. For HS chapters 22 and above, GRA's lookup returns the 4-digit heading rather than the full 10-digit code, so the heading is what is shown. The VAT column in the lookup is a rated / not-rated flag, not a rate: it still carries the pre-2023 figure, so we apply the current 15% standard rate. Classification is decided at declaration.
Preset to the band for this product. Change it if your HS code differs.
Everything starts with the CIF value: cost plus insurance plus freight, converted to cedis at the Customs exchange rate. Import duty is charged on CIF under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which Ghana runs as five bands: 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 35%. The band follows the HS code, so the classification matters more than the category name.
The part importers get wrong is the base each charge sits on. The ECOWAS Levy (0.5%), African Union Import Levy (0.2%), EXIM Levy (0.75%) and Special Import Levy (2%) are all charged on CIF, as is the 1% processing fee. But VAT is charged on the duty-inclusive value, which per GRA is CIF plus import duty plus NHIL plus GETFund. That is why the effective add-on is far higher than adding the percentages together 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. GRA's HS code lookup still shows VAT at the pre-2023 rate in its tax column; the current standard rate is 15%, and that is what is applied here.
What is the import duty on used clothing in Ghana?
Worn clothing and other worn articles fall under HS heading 6309 and carry 20% import duty, charged on the CIF value. The line is VAT-rated, so NHIL, the GETFund Levy and VAT apply on top.
How much does it cost in total to clear a bale shipment in Ghana?
On the 20% band, duty plus the CIF levies plus NHIL, GETFund and VAT come to roughly 49% of the CIF value, before port charges, shipping-line charges and the clearing agent's fee. Customs may also uplift the declared value if it is below the values it holds for comparable consignments, and every charge is then recomputed on the higher value.
Is second-hand clothing banned in Ghana?
Worn clothing is a live tariff line at 20% duty, so it is imported and cleared as normal commercial cargo. Used underwear and used handkerchiefs are prohibited imports. Policy on the wider second-hand trade is debated periodically, so check current GRA and Ministry of Trade notices before committing to a shipment.
Sources: Ghana Revenue Authority, Harmonized System Code lookup (gra.gov.gh/customs/hs_code) for the tariff lines and import duty bands, retrieved 2026-07-12; GRA, Customs Tariffs and Levies (gra.gov.gh/customs/customs-tariffs-and-levies) for the ECOWAS CET five-band schedule and the levies; VAT Act, 2025 (Act 1151), effective 1 January 2026, for the abolition of the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy. Duty bands are as GRA publishes them. Classification, valuation and any relief are decided at declaration, so treat these figures as an estimate and confirm with a licensed declarant.