Festival equipment: temporary admission, consumables and sale
Kumasi-based events company imports a 40-foot container of stage lighting, aluminium trussing and sound equipment from South Africa for a three-day festival in Accra. The goods arrive at Tema on 2 June 2025. The company’s agent proposes to clear them under temporary admission for 30 days, with a bank guarantee equal to 30% of the duty. The equipment will be used at the festival and then stored in the company’s yard; 45 days later a Nigerian promoter will buy it and move it to Lagos. The container also includes consumables: 500 metres of cable, 60 lamps and 20 cans of special-effect fluid that will be used up during the show. The company has no bonded warehouse licence and has not registered for a free zone. A Customs officer notes that the Nigerian promoter has already paid a deposit.
1. Is temporary admission the correct suspense regime for the equipment? State the conditions and the security that should be required.
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Regime. Temporary admission is available only for goods imported for a specific purpose and intended to be re-exported in the same state without having undergone alteration. The stage equipment fits that idea, but the application must be made properly in ICUMS, with a clear description, value, purpose, period and proposed re-export date. Customs should require security for the duty and taxes at risk, not an arbitrary 30%. A bank guarantee may be accepted, but the amount should cover the full potential liability; a 30% guarantee leaves a large uncovered risk. The 30-day period is short and may be extended on application, but storage in the company's yard after the festival is not automatically authorised. A bonded warehouse or free zone would require a licence and registration, which the company does not have. Temporary admission is therefore the right starting point only if the equipment is genuinely to be re-exported and the conditions are met.
2. How should the consumables be treated, and what happens if the equipment is sold to the Nigerian promoter while still under temporary admission?
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Consumables and sale. The cables, lamps and effect fluid are consumables. Once used up or incorporated, they cannot be re-exported in the same state, so they are not eligible for temporary admission. They must be entered for home consumption and duty/taxes paid, or segregated and disposed of under Customs control. The proposed sale to the Nigerian promoter is a disposal while the goods are still under temporary admission. That breaches the regime: the equipment would be entering the commerce of Ghana without payment of duty. Customs should demand the full duty and taxes, call in the guarantee, and consider penalties and seizure. The promoter's deposit is evidence of intended sale but does not make the transaction lawful. The company would need to either re-export the equipment and let the promoter import it into Nigeria, or clear it for home use in Ghana before delivery.
3. Would transit procedure be better than temporary admission for the Nigerian-bound goods? Explain the distinction.
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Transit compared. Transit is designed for goods moving through Ghana to another country without being used or consumed in Ghana. If the equipment were only passing from Tema to Lagos, a transit declaration with a bond, prescribed route, time limit and Transit Unit controls would be appropriate. Here the equipment is used at an Accra festival, so it is not in mere transit. Using transit would be a false declaration. Temporary admission reflects the actual use, but only if re-export follows. The correct planning is to separate the consumables, enter them for home use, and keep the durable equipment under temporary admission with adequate security and a realistic re-export date.