The Tribune

The Customs Department in Freeport has announced its readiness for various initiatives it will be enforcing in 2015.

Sherrick Martin, assistant comptroller of Customs, said the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and Excise Stamp Control for tobacco products are among the changes the Department has been preparing for.

Mr Martin said: “VAT, as we know it, is a broad-based tax on goods and services where the country is involved for the common good. We can tell you we are ready for this new initiative, and I believe that it’s revolutionary and a paradigm shift from the way we used to do business, and will also enhance productivity within our organisation.”

To assist the public with this, Mr Martin said officers worked extended hours on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Marsha Lebronson-Stubbs, chief Customs officer, said “the EDI, which is the Electronic Data Interchange, is the outside element where the public can now do their entries to Customs and submit it to us electronically. Customs is now going towards where we will be totally paperless”.

The entire process, she added, will now be done in 24 hours or less. “The whole gamut of EDI is to facilitate trade in a very fast way.”

Referring to the Excise Stamp Control (Amendment) Act 2014, Superintendent Leonard Johnson said and any tobacco product found in a store without such a stamp affixed will be subject to seizure.

“If you go into a store and buy a cigar or cigarettes and the stamp is not on it, it is not a legal product. The Compliance Unit is doing periodic checks, and quite a few tobacco products were not in compliance. Whether you import your products or have them made locally, it must have the stamp affixed. You must apply to the Ministry of Finance and the stamps will be issued,” Mr Johnson said.

“In the event that we visit your place and there are no stamps there, they become subject to seizure, so I’m sure you are going to see quite a bit of tobacco products off the street.”

Mr Martin said any person who engages in the sale or manufacturing of tobacco products must be registered with the secretary of revenue in the Ministry of Finance.

He warned: “The fines, if we were to check your goods or to check your stores and find that the stamps are not affixed to the cigarettes or cigars, and if you are not registered, the fine is extensive. It ranges from $20,000 to $100,000 and a maximum of five years in prison, or both.

“It is a wise thing that all those persons who engage in the sale or the importation of tobacco products to ensure their cigarettes are properly stamped.

“When they would have registered with the secretary of revenue in Nassau, they will also apply for the stamps. The stamps will be forwarded to the Customs Department in Nassau and they will be forwarded to Freeport, where they will be issued by the Excise Officer in the Customs Department for the sole use of that importer.”