Private legal practitioner Jonathan A. Alua has taken the Attorney-General and the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to the Supreme Court over a provision regulating customs exemptions for passengers entering Ghana with personal effects.

The suit challenges Regulation 18(2)(b) of the Exemptions Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2514), which gives the Commissioner-General authority to determine the quantity of baggage a passenger may bring into the country under the passenger baggage exemption regime.

Mr Alua is asking the apex court to determine whether the provision gives the GRA powers that effectively amount to granting or varying tax exemptions without the approval of Parliament.

His action has been filed pursuant to Articles 2(1)(b), 130(1) and 174 of the 1992 Constitution.

According to the plaintiff, any decision to waive or vary a tax for particular individuals or entities must comply with Article 174(2), which requires parliamentary approval.

He is therefore asking the Supreme Court to declare Regulation 18(2)(b) unconstitutional to the extent that it permits the Commissioner-General, or authorised Customs officers, to determine whether individual passengers qualify for exemptions on a case-by-case basis without prior parliamentary approval.

Mr Alua is also seeking an order preventing the Commissioner-General and officers of the Customs Division from exercising the disputed authority until the constitutional requirements under Article 174(2) have been satisfied or Parliament has passed a resolution in accordance with Article 174(3).

The plaintiff is further asking the court to issue any additional orders it considers necessary to give effect to its declarations and to award costs against the defendants.

The legal challenge comes amid a growing public discussion over how Customs treats mobile phones and other personal belongings brought into Ghana by air travellers.

The debate intensified after Commissioner of Customs Aaron Kanor cautioned travellers against carrying multiple mobile phones into the country on behalf of others.

He suggested that quantities considered excessive for personal use could be treated as commercial imports.

However, the GRA has subsequently clarified that carrying more than two mobile phones does not automatically attract customs duty.

The Supreme Court is now being asked to determine the extent of the Commissioner-General’s authority under the disputed regulation and whether that authority is consistent with the constitutional requirements governing tax exemptions.