The Tribune

The implementation of Customs' electronic single window (ESW) for 80 percent of goods entering this country has been delayed by one month to October 1, it was announced yesterday.

The Ministry of Finance said the roll-out of the fully electronic process, known as Click2Clear, for clearing goods imported via the Nassau Container Port has been pushed back from the initial September 1 target although no explanation was given for this.

Instead, the Customs legacy system, commonly referred to as Ecas, will no longer be the primary system used for Customs processing as of October 1. The Ministry of Finance added that the Arawak Cay-based container port handles 80 percent of imported physical goods cargo coming into The Bahamas, making it the key addition to the Click2Clear system.

Tyrone Sands, superintendent of Bahamas Customs and spokesperson, said that last year the agency successfully brought businesses that are involved in air cargo, such as DHL, FedEX, Sonic Express, Blue Postal and ZipEx on to the system.

"The Comptroller of Customs has committed herself to ensuring that all business persons receive training free of charge. We have already trained hundreds of customs brokers. Since August 2018, approximately 65,600 declarations submitted by air cargo operations have been processed through Click2Clear," said Mr Sands.

The Click2Clear portal is designed to level the playing field for all imports as well as assist Customs with becoming more transparent, efficient and accountable. It will eventually move Customs to a cashless operation, thus reducing revenue leakages. It will also provide the government with more accurate statistical information.

Marlon Johnson, acting financial secretary, said of the customs modernisation: "The objective of this project is to create a digital platform that will revolutionise the approach to customs clearance, and it is also consistent with the government's mandate for digitisation. This platform will modernise the antiquated process that is presently conducted manually."

When totally implemented, Click2Clear will encourage a greater level of compliance as it will incorporate Artificial Intelligence. It has the capability to easily track trends and detect any vendor or invoice anomalies or inconsistencies. Further, Mr Johnson said that he was fully cognizant of the learning curve involved in the usage of the new online platform.

"There has been a ramp up in training as the system went live on several islands," Mr Johnson said in late August. "Abaco represented the largest island to go live to-date. The experience with Abaco's onboarding process has been a teachable one.

"However, officials from Bahamas Customs and Ministry of Finance successfully met with stakeholders from the wholesale industry on Abaco to appraise them of what was happening and to receive feedback from them, which was essential to refining the system."

Mr Johnson reiterated that Click2Clear is being implemented in phases. Passengers traveling with accompanying baggage do not need to be registered at this particular time to clear Customs. This phase of registration is only mandatory for persons importing items, whether through a broker or shipper.

Jeffrey Beckles, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce's chief executive, added: "Another great feature is the system's ability to collect data, which will lead to strategic conversations with policymakers, because now we can do more analytical assessments in terms of how to prepare for the future, how to engage with government on various policy decisions that need to be taken in order to help the economy to continue to grow."