Accra: The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says the introduction of the Publican Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool is significantly improving revenue mobilisation and enhancing compliance within Ghana's customs administration system. Officials of the Customs Technical Services Bureau (CTSB) of the Customs Division of the GRA said the AI-driven tool was introduced to help detect customs infractions, including under-declaration, misdescription, over-invoicing, and undervaluation of imports.
According to Ghana News Agency, the GRA officials announced this during a media forum powered by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA). Desmond Serlom Agbaku, a Senior Revenue Officer of the CTSB, said the system was introduced following concerns over revenue losses linked to customs offences and abuse of import documentation processes. The AI tool analyses information relating to importers, exporters, bank transfers, trade documents, and historical customs records to support customs officers in determining the value, classification, and origin of goods.
Mr Agbaku explained that the Publican AI is a tool to help customs in valuation, classification, and determining the origin of goods, analyzing information and presenting risk indicators to officers to support effective decision-making. The system was piloted in February and fully deployed on March 12, 2026. Since its deployment, the Authority had recorded improvements in revenue collection, attributing the gains partly to increased compliance among importers.
He emphasized that the AI tool does not replace customs officers but complements existing valuation and risk management tools used by the Authority. The Publican AI supports the work of officers and enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of customs processes. The system can identify inconsistencies in trade documentation, suspicious valuations, and possible disease risks associated with imported goods, which require closer scrutiny by customs officials.
Frank Atakra, a Senior Revenue Officer of the CTSB, noted that before the introduction of the AI tool, a major challenge for customs was the submission of tampered invoices by some declarants to reduce their duty liabilities. The Publican AI system can analyze trade documents and detect inconsistencies in invoices presented for duty assessment, aiding Customs officers in determining more accurate values for imported goods.
Mr Atakra stated that once a tampered invoice is presented to Customs, the system can detect it and, in some cases, analyze the trade documents to provide a reasonable value for duty assessment. The system is designed to complement existing customs procedures, relying on information from invoices, bills of lading, packing lists, shipping documents, and historical trade records available to Customs.
The GRA officials mentioned ongoing stakeholder engagements and sensitization programs across the country to educate freight forwarders, importers, and other stakeholders on the system's operation. They assured stakeholders that existing appeal mechanisms remain available for importers who disagree with customs assessments generated through the AI-assisted process.