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Ghana has reportedly lost more than GH¢22.6 billion in tax revenue between April 2020 and August 2025 through systematic under-declaration of imports and questionable foreign exchange transfers linked to Import Declaration Forms (IDFs), according to confidential data reviewed by Business and Financial Times. The massive financial hemorrhage stems from foreign payments made for goods that were allegedly never imported, deliberately under-invoiced, or backed by falsified paperwork. The scale of the losses points to what experts describe as a catastrophic failure in trade monitoring and tax collection systems. Data examined by B&FT reveals that 525,814 foreign transfers totaling more than GH¢83 billion were processed using IDFs during the five-year period. However, only approximately 10,440 of those forms corresponded to actual importation of goods into the country. This staggering discrepancy means roughly 98 percent of recorded foreign transfers under the IDF system had no verifiable imports associated with them. The revenue implications are severe. Using a conservative composite tax rate of 30 percent that includes Value Added Tax (VAT), National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL), Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) contributions, COVID levy, import duties and other statutory charges, the unverified imports translate into GH¢22.6 billion in lost import-related taxes. This figure doesn’t account for additional domestic tax effects such as VAT and corporate income tax that would have been collected on legitimately declared goods. Beyond the tax losses, the foreign exchange implications are equally troubling. The evidence suggests Ghana may have lost up to GH¢75 billion in forex, intensifying pressure on the Bank of Ghana’s reserves during years when the cedi experienced its most dramatic depreciations, particularly in 2022, 2023 and 2024. “The data show that only a quarter of the actual foreign exchange demand results in real importation of goods,” a source familiar with the findings noted, suggesting substantial forex allocations may have been diverted for non-trade purposes including currency speculation, capital flight and other illicit transfers. A targeted audit of the top 50 importers uncovered under-declaration exceeding GH¢31 billion, resulting in an estimated GH¢9 billion in lost import taxes alone. More than 70 percent of these major importers were registered companies, with the remainder consisting of individuals and sole proprietorships. When this ratio was applied across all 4,213 importers in the database, it produced the total tax loss estimate of GH¢22.6 billion. The investigation identified multiple red flags in the IDF data. These included funds transferred abroad with zero corresponding imports, transfers with inflated invoice values but under-declared goods, and imports recorded with minimal or no associated foreign payments. Such patterns are consistent with import tax evasion, money laundering schemes and possible manipulation of the Bank of Ghana’s foreign exchange allocation framework. Between April 2020 and August 2025, an average of US$3.8 billion was transferred annually through IDFs without documented evidence of imports tied to those forms. More than 85 percent of transfers were conducted in U.S. dollars, with euros and British pounds comprising most of the remainder. Other currencies represented less than 3 percent of total transactions. Analysis of the entities involved showed approximately 44 percent were registered enterprises or sole proprietorships, accounting for roughly GH¢13.6 billion in transfers. The remaining 56 percent were registered companies responsible for GH¢17.3 billion. Less than one percent of transactions involved diplomatic or multilateral institutions. Perhaps most alarming is evidence showing 1,709 importers who declared goods valued at over GH¢471 billion but transferred only about GH¢220 billion, creating a gap exceeding GH¢250 billion. This suggests massive under-invoicing or the use of alternative payment channels. Intelligence sources indicate some importers operate substantially outside formal banking channels, relying instead on informal remittance systems such as illegal black market operators commonly called ‘Alhajis’, WeChat transfers, cryptocurrency networks and other unregulated payment platforms. Proceeds from certain transfers may be linked to financing illegal mining operations known locally as galamsey, according to sources. The probe also exposed widespread violations of the US$200,000 threshold rule, which requires importers to submit comprehensive documentation before banks can process additional foreign transfers above that limit. Data shows more than 17,700 IDF applications were used to transfer over GH¢20 billion in various currencies beyond the mandatory threshold, suggesting systematic circumvention of regulatory safeguards. The revelations raise serious questions about oversight mechanisms at the Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division, Bank of Ghana and commercial banks involved in processing these transactions. The losses occurred during a period when the country faced severe fiscal constraints and sought international support through an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
