The Impact of Import Duties on the Automobile Spare Parts Industry in Ghana

Abstract

Studies on the impact of import duties on the spare parts industry and Abossey Okai market to be specific are limited. Most of the available studies conducted in this subject area have focused attention on the challenges of the automobile industry. It is in this regard that this study sought to evaluate the impact of import duties on the Abossey Okai spare parts dealers. The specific objectives were to evaluate the impact of import duties on the sales, employment and quantity of goods imported.

A quantitative methodological technique was adopted to address the objectives of the study. A well-structured questionnaire was designed, pre-tested and administered to collect data from 50 spare parts dealers in the Abossey Okai spare parts markets. A random sampling technique was used to sample the respondents for the study. The random sampling technique was employed to give each respondent an equal chance of being interviewed.

The study finds that the high import duties prevailing in the county limit the capacity of spare parts dealers in the country to employ. It also impacts adversely on the sales and quantity of spare parts imported into the country. This means that the price of spare parts in the country will be high and may translate into high transport fares in the country. It is therefore recommended that the government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Finance restructure Ghana’s import duties to make it favourable for the spare parts dealers to conduct more trade for wealth and employment creation.