By Ghana News 
The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has issued a highly essential safety warning to all citizens planning to purchase imported used cars. Prospective buyers must prioritize checking the complete clearance status of a car before handing over their hard-earned cash.
Failing to double check your dream car can quickly result in heavy financial losses and unexpected state seizures. This urgent public advice is part of an ongoing national campaign to wipe out illegal smuggling networks and protect innocent local buyers from fraudulent car dealers.
Why You Cannot Rely Only on Car Documents Given by Sellers
Speaking during an expert port industry forum organized by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Senior Revenue Officer Michel Adu Manu dropped massive consumer tips. He explicitly advised car buyers never to depend entirely on the printed papers presented by a vehicle salesperson.
The revenue expert explained that modern scammers are highly skilled at manufacturing fake clearance certificates to speed up quick sales. Buyers must take the extra logical step of matching whatever details they see on paper with a real physical checkup performed by certified customs personnel.
To make the vetting process very easy, the state has provided a modern digital tool that anyone can access comfortably from home. Buyers can quickly verify a vehicle’s official clearance record by logging onto the external ICUMS or UNIPASS online calculation platform.
You simply need to input the unique Vehicle Identification Number or the structural chassis number into the platform database. The online calculator will automatically bring out the exact make, model, and tax payment history, showing whether the dealership completed the correct custom clearings or skipped the protocol.
Even though checking online provides an excellent early shield against fraud, the state official heavily emphasized that an online check is never enough. Scammers sometimes copy a clean chassis number from a cleared vehicle and weld it onto an smuggled car, a highly dangerous trick that only physical observation can catch.
Car buyers must drive the vehicle straight to any nearby Customs division office for an officer to check the engine area thoroughly. This simple physical verification guarantees that the serial numbers on the car structure have not been tampered with or altered by any backyard mechanic trying to hide a stolen product.
The revenue officer also highlighted a popular scam involving vehicles that enter the country using foreign registration plates. Some individuals bring cars into Ghana under temporary tourist import arrangements, which means the vehicles must leave our borders after a short specified period.
Unfortunately, some unprincipled drivers unlawfully sell these uncustomed foreign vehicles to unsuspecting buyers without paying any standard import duties. If you mistakenly purchase such a vehicle, state taskforces will eventually impound the car during emergency roadside enforcement operations, leaving you with absolute zero financial compensation.
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