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Shipping to Ghana: what is not allowed

Ghana charges duty under the ECOWAS tariff plus VAT and levies totalling about 20%. Cosmetics, supplements and medicines sent as personal effects need FDA registration and an import permit.

Not accepted for Ghana

  • Second-hand underwear, bras, handkerchiefs and singlets
  • Counterfeit money and obscene articles
  • Contaminated food
  • Dangerous weapons and defamatory literature

Allowed, with conditions

  • Food supplements, cosmetics and medicines — FDA importer registration and eMDA permit on ICUMS; every consignment physically inspected; at least two-thirds of shelf life remaining
  • Plants and soil — Ministry of Food and Agriculture permit
  • Currency — Bank of Ghana

VAT 15% plus NHIL 2.5% and GETFund 2.5% (about 20%), on top of duty of 0–35% and small ECOWAS, AU, EXIM and other levies.

No duty-free allowance for courier parcels is published. Individuals clear on ICUMS with their Ghana Card number; the recipient pays before release.

Quick answers: shipping from India to Ghana

What can I not send from India to Ghana?

Ghana does not accept: second-hand underwear, bras, handkerchiefs and singlets; counterfeit money and obscene articles; contaminated food; dangerous weapons and defamatory literature. On every route, we also cannot carry anything with a battery, mobile phones and laptops, real gold, silver or diamond jewellery, or anything flammable or pressurised such as perfume, aerosols and nail polish.

Can I send medicines from India to Ghana?

Yes, within limits: food supplements, cosmetics and medicines — FDA importer registration and eMDA permit on ICUMS; every consignment physically inspected; at least two-thirds of shelf life remaining. Controlled and psychotropic medicines need clearance first, so ask us before you order them.

Can I send Indian food to Ghana?

Yes, with conditions: food supplements, cosmetics and medicines — FDA importer registration and eMDA permit on ICUMS; every consignment physically inspected; at least two-thirds of shelf life remaining. Check the not-accepted list on this page before you order, because some foods are banned outright.

How long does a parcel from India to Ghana take?

Normal transit on this route is 4 to 6 business days from our warehouse in Kerala.

Will I pay customs duty or tax in Ghana?

VAT 15% plus NHIL 2.5% and GETFund 2.5% (about 20%), on top of duty of 0–35% and small ECOWAS, AU, EXIM and other levies. No duty-free allowance for courier parcels is published. Individuals clear on ICUMS with their Ghana Card number; the recipient pays before release.

Never accepted, wherever you are

These are refused by the airlines, by Indian export rules or by us, so they cannot leave our warehouse for any destination.

Prohibited, restricted and dangerous goods, in one line each. Prohibited means it cannot be sent at all. Restricted means it can travel, but only under conditions your country sets, such as a personal quantity, a prescription or a declaration; those are listed under each destination. Dangerous goods are what airlines treat as a hazard on board: anything flammable, corrosive or pressurised. We also cannot ship anything with a battery, or anything that burns, such as agarbatti and camphor.

  • Cash, currency, cheques, bullion, and loose precious stones
  • Narcotics, illegal drugs, and psychotropic substances
  • Firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, and weapons (including replicas)
  • Anything with a battery, including power banks, battery-operated toys and watches
  • Mobile phones and laptops
  • Real gold, silver and diamond jewellery
  • Flammable, corrosive, or pressurised goods — perfumes/deodorant sprays, aerosols, nail polish and remover, paints, thinners, fuel, gas cylinders, lighters, and matches
  • Anything that burns: agarbatti (incense sticks), dhoop, camphor, sambrani and candles
  • Live animals, plants, seeds, soil, and products of endangered species (CITES)
  • Pornographic, obscene, or seditious material
  • Counterfeit goods and pirated media
  • Human remains, biological samples, and infectious substances
  • Radioactive and toxic substances

Medicines and supplements are the one thing to check before you order. They are not banned — almost every destination lets a personal quantity through in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription. What changes from country to country is how much counts as personal, whose name the prescription has to be in, and which ingredients need clearance from that country's health authority first.

The rule for Ghana is under Allowed, with conditions above. Controlled and psychotropic medicines are a separate case: several countries want their own health authority to clear the parcel first, so check with us before you order rather than after it arrives with us.

If you are not sure about something, ask on WhatsApp before you order it.

The same list, talked through

Three and a half minutes on what cannot leave India, what your own country will not let in, and the things that travel perfectly well once the paperwork is right.

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What You Can and Can't Ship From India (Full List)

Rules for other destinations