The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has cautioned travellers returning to the country against carrying multiple mobile phones on behalf of other people, warning that doing so could be treated as a commercial importation and attract import duty.
GRA Customs Commissioner Aaron Kanor explained that travellers are allowed to bring a limited number of phones for personal use without being treated as commercial importers.
Speaking to the media at the Accra International Airport, he advised passengers not to accept several phones from friends and relatives for delivery in Ghana.
Using a hypothetical example, Kanor said a traveller could run into problems if several people each handed over a phone to be brought into the country.
He explained that although the phones may belong to different individuals, carrying all of them would make Customs consider the traveller to be importing the items commercially.
According to Kanor, an individual can carry two phones, one for personal use and another for a spouse, but bringing more than that could result in the payment of duty.
“So, I implore that when you are coming home [to Ghana], you do not collect people’s things. If you collect them and they are beyond two, one individual you can only carry two: one for yourself and maybe one for your wife,” he said.
He added that phones such as iPhones and Samsung devices can be expensive and therefore attract greater attention from Customs authorities when being imported in larger quantities.
“But beyond that, then it amounts to commercial. Because all these phones are expensive. Look at the iPhone, Samsung; they are very expensive and that is where we can get our revenue,” Kanor said.
The caution comes months after a controversy involving a traveller who said he was charged import duty after arriving at the Accra International Airport with 18 mobile phones and several accessories.
The incident occurred in December 2025 after the traveller alleged that he had been extorted by Customs officials.
In a statement issued on December 11, 2025, the GRA denied the allegation, explaining that the passenger arrived in Ghana on December 5 with 18 undeclared phones and accessories.
The authority said the items exceeded the personal concession permitted under the Exemptions Act, 2022 (Act 1083).
According to the GRA, the traveller was therefore issued with a Bill of Entry and required to pay the applicable duty through the standard Customs procedure.
The authority also denied claims that its officials had extorted money from the traveller or detained him unlawfully.
The traveller, however, stated that he paid GH¢12,690.63 in import duty for the phones and other accessories.
The latest warning from the GRA is aimed at reminding travellers that goods brought into Ghana beyond personal-use allowances may be treated differently by Customs, particularly where the quantity suggests commercial importation.
