FOREIGN EXCHANGE ACT - 1972 (NRCD 44)

• Section - 1 - Wilful Misrepresentation Of Cost Of Goods Or Services.

  • Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining a transfer of foreign exchange from Ghana to pay for goods or services provided abroad, whether on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person, wilfully misrepresents the cost of those goods or services, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to the penalties provided by this Decree.
    

• Section - 2 - Persons Concerned In Offence Under Section 1.

  • Any person who directly or indirectly assists or permits or is concerned in the commission of an offence under section 1 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to the penalties provided by this Decree.
    

• Section - 2 - (A) Certain Export Prices Deemed Unsatisfactory.

  • (1) Subsection (1) of section 10 of the Exchange Control Act, 1961 (Act 71) (which among other things requires that payment for exports shall represent a return for the goods which is in all the circumstances satisfactory in the interests of Ghana) shall be deemed not to have been complied with where the price paid or to be paid for any exports is less than the minimum world market price for such exports as on the date of the contract to which the export relates, unless the Bank of Ghana otherwise directs.
    
    (2) Every exporter of such goods as the Bank of Ghana may by notice published in the Commercial and Industrial Bulletin of the Ghana Gazette prescribe, shall declare to any public authority controlling the export of the said goods the world market price obtaining at the time of the contract for the export and it shall be the duty of the said public authority to decide whether the price to be paid for the goods is satisfactory in the interests of Ghana or not, taking into consideration the world market price declared by the exporter as well as any other information in the possession of the authority:
    
    Provided that where in the case of any goods prescribed by the Bank under this subsection there is no public authority controlling their export, the reference in this subsection to a public authority in relation thereto shall be deemed to be a reference to the Bank of Ghana.
    
    (3) Any person who makes a false declaration under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on summary conviction be liable to a fine of not less than c10,000.00 or to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years, but not exceeding fifteen years or to both such fine and imprisonment.[As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 1]
    

• Section - 2 - (B) Certain Misrepresentations In Export Transactions To Constitute Offences.

  • Any exporter who misrepresents in any manner specified in sections 2C, 2D and 2E of this Decree either the consignee or the quality or quantity of any goods in any document relating to the export of the goods shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to the penalties provided in relation thereto in the said sections.[As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 1]
    

• Section - 2 - (C) Misrepresentation Of Consignee.

  • (1) An exporter shall be guilty of misrepresenting the consignee of goods-
    
    (a) if knowing that the goods exported shall be resold to another person in substantially the same form and quantity as when exported from Ghana he names to be a consignee in any document relating to the export a person other than the person to whom the goods are resold or to be resold and the price paid or payable by the person so named is lower than the world market price, or
    
    (b) if the exporter and the consignee named in any document relating to the export have a common financial interest as defined in subsection (2) of this section and the price paid or payable by such consignee is lower than the world market price as on the date of naming the consignee.
    
    (2) An exporter and a consignee shall, for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section be deemed to have a common financial interest if the consignee is a person who wholly or partly owns the share capital of the exporter or a person whose share capital is wholly or partly owned by the exporter or if the consignee and the exporter are persons whose share capital is wholly or partly owned by the same person.
    
    (3) Where a person is convicted for misrepresenting the consignee the court shall order the offender to pay to the Bank of Ghana within thirty days in such foreign exchange as the court may determine a sum equal to ten times the difference between the world market price and the price paid or payable by the misrepresented consignee.[As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 1]

• Section - 2 - (D) Misrepresentation Of Quality Or Quantity Of Exports.

  • (1) An exporter shall be guilty of misrepresenting the quality or quantity of exports if in any document relating to the export he states a quality or quantity in respect of the goods which is intended to secure or which secures a price lower than the price which would have been secured if he had stated the true quality or quantity of the goods.
    
    (2) Where a person is convicted under this section for misrepresenting the quality or quantity of exports he shall be liable to pay to the Bank of Ghana, within thirty days in such foreign exchange as the court shall determine, a sum equal to ten times the amount representing the difference between the price which would have been secured if the exporter had stated the true quality or quantity of the goods and the price which was intended to be secured or which was secured on the misrepresentation.[As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 1]

• Section - 2 - (E) Export Of Services.

  • The provisions of sections 2A to 2D shall apply with the necessary modifications to the export of services from Ghana.[As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 1]
    

• Section - 2 - (F) Definition Of World Market Price.

  • (1) For the purposes of sections 2A, 2B, 2C and 2E of this Decree the expression "world market price" means the price current or prevailing in the country designated in any document relating to the export as the country of consignment or, where appropriate, the price fixed under any international agreement for the time being in force.
    
    (2) Where there is any doubt as to the world market price in respect of any goods a statement by the Bank of Ghana as to such price shall be conclusive. [As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 1]

• Section - 3 - Ascertainment Of Amount Transferred By Wilful Misrepresentation.

  • (1) For the purpose of ascertaining whether a person has wilfully misrepresented the cost of goods or services provided abroad, the Court shall determine-
    
    (a) the normal commercial cost of the goods or services provided in their country of origin and in the case of the goods taking into account the fact that they are intended for export;
    
    (b) the amount of foreign exchange transferred in payment for those goods or services.
    
    (2) The amount by which the foreign exchange transferred in payment for the goods or services in question exceeds their normal commercial cost shall be deemed to be an amount transferred by wilful misrepresentation.

• Section - 4 - Penalty Of Ten Times The Amount Transferred By Wilful Misrepresentation.

  • Where a person is convicted of any offence under sections 1, 2 and 3 of this Decree the court shall order the offender to pay to the Bank of Ghana within thirty days a sum not less than ten times the amount found in accordance with section 3 to have been transferred by wilful misrepresentation. [As substituted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 2]
    

• Section - 5 - Penalty Payable In Foreign Exchange.

  • The amount payable to the Bank of Ghana under section 4 shall be paid in such form of foreign exchange as shall be determined by the court.
    

• Section - 6 - Further Penalty On Failure To Pay Foreign Exchange.

  • Where a person having been convicted of any offence under sections 1, 2 and 3 of this Decree, fails within thirty days to pay the aforesaid foreign exchange to the Bank of Ghana, the court shall in lieu of such penalty impose on the offender a fine not less than c10,000 or a sentence of imprisonment not less than five years but not exceeding fifteen years, or both such fine and imprisonment. [As substituted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree 1973 (NRCD 162) s. 3]
    

• Section - 7 - Offences By Bodies Of Persons.

  • In the case of an offence committed under this Decree by a body of persons-
    
    (a) where the body of persons is a body corporate, other than a partnership, every director and officer of that body corporate shall be deemed also to be guilty of that offence; and
    
    (b) where the body is a partnership every partner shall be deemed also to be guilty of that offence:
    
    Provided that no such person shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence under this Decree if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

• Section - 8 - Jurisdiction Of Courts, Etc.

  • Any person may be prosecuted and convicted or otherwise proceeded against for any offence under this Decree, whether or not the act constituting the offence was committed in or outside Ghana or before or after the commencement of this Decree.[As substituted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Decree, 1972 (NRCD 69) s.3]
    

• Section - 9 - Foreign Exchange To Be Paid To Consolidated Fund.

  • Where foreign exchange is paid to the Bank of Ghana in accordance with this Decree, the Bank of Ghana shall pay that foreign exchange into the Consolidated Fund.
    

• Section - 10 - Decree To Apply Whether Money Transferred Or Not.

  • For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that a person may be proceeded against and convicted in respect of an offence under this Decree whether or not any foreign exchange has in fact been transferred and accordingly any reference in this Decree to foreign exchange transferred shall be deemed to include a reference to the foreign exchange that could have been transferred on the basis of the misrepresentation.[As inserted by Foreign Exchange (Amendment) (No. 2) Decree, 1972 (NRCD 79) s.1]