Gifts you buy abroad for family and friends are dutiable – GRA customs officer explains [Video]

A customs officer at Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport has clarified that gifts bought abroad or upon arrival for family members who did not accompany the traveler are subject to customs duty, despite popular belief. Speaking on GRA Connect, Comfort Omari, a senior revenue officer, emphasized that baggages concessions apply solely to the traveler and not to relatives back home who did not join the journey.

"The law gives concession only to the traveller and not the family members at home who didn’t travel with him or her," Omari stated. Many travelers are caught off guard by this rule, particularly those who expect gifts for their spouses to be duty-free. "People think that if I’m a man and I’ve travelled and I’m buying something for my wife, it should be free.

No, it’s a gift to your wife, so it is dutiable," Omari added. According to Ghana’s Exemptions Act, 2022 (Act 1083), Section 17(1), baggage exemptions pertain only to items a passenger travels with for personal use. Items bought for family and friends are considered gifts and are, therefore, dutiable. Omari further explained that customs officers determine whether an item is a gift through an oral declaration process at the customs desk, where travelers must disclose the contents of their luggage.