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boxy wrote:Air condition units cannot be imported/cleared without an import Licence This falls under the Ministry of Trade - Licence unit
Customs won't release your goods without the presentation of said Licence. They don't need to read literature u provide as that is not within their purvue. Try to get your Licence sorted before it arrives similarly to what is Done with cars.Ben_spanna wrote:Try bringing in an air conditioner that has the new gases in it.. alot of those fking morons in customs are not fimilar with the new standard and emerging changes in GAses and they will hold your item for Months , even when you have provided all literature for them to go along with it....they just too friking lazy and dont have time to read all dat so they leave your items right there..meanwhile you are incurring rent.
This place really going backwards!
sMASH wrote:a time i brought down a hunting camo 3/4 during christmas rush. it was the exact same pattern and colors of our regiment. it looked different online when i ordered it ... i gave it away to a police i did kno.
fireworks wrote:boxy wrote:Air condition units cannot be imported/cleared without an import Licence This falls under the Ministry of Trade - Licence unit
Customs won't release your goods without the presentation of said Licence. They don't need to read literature u provide as that is not within their purvue. Try to get your Licence sorted before it arrives similarly to what is Done with cars.Ben_spanna wrote:Try bringing in an air conditioner that has the new gases in it.. alot of those fking morons in customs are not fimilar with the new standard and emerging changes in GAses and they will hold your item for Months , even when you have provided all literature for them to go along with it....they just too friking lazy and dont have time to read all dat so they leave your items right there..meanwhile you are incurring rent.
This place really going backwards!
Silly thing is I imported my own AC units. Without a license. Cleared no problem.
Customs rule, ‘a wild, mad stunt’
Andrew Gioannetti
Stakeholders in the business community, comprising various local chambers of commerce are imploring government and the Comptroller of Customs and Excise to adjust a new customs rule that has considerably lengthened the time it takes to clear goods and puts an additional cost to businessmen.
Government came in for stinging criticism from several well-known members of the business community, with representatives from companies and organisations including DHL, FedEx, EZone, Trinidad Systems Ltd and the TT Manufacturers Association, jointly hosting a media conference at the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) office in Maraval Road, Newtown, on Thursday. AmCham CEO Nirad Tewarie said the current situation was debilitating to business. “I reiterate,” he said, “far from facilitating legitimate trade, what is happening now is frustrating legitimate trade, and it must be reversed if the country which is trying to get out of a recession, is to have a chance to do so by allowing business to what business needs to do.”
The legislation requires all commercial entries to be cleared by a broker. Specifically, a customs broker must be hired to fill out the required documentation, irrespective of the value of the shipment. As such, stakeholders have asked that legislation be adjusted to allow for commercial purchases at $20,000 and below, to be cleared as a non-trade/free entry. This, the chamber says, will significantly aid the ease of doing business.
Tewarie said the chamber wrote to Minister of Finance Colm Imbert last May, expressing concern that the system was going to cause difficulties and asked for more dialogue. “When the intermittent implementation started, we then wrote to the attorney general in November, 2019, asking for a change in the legislation to legalise the $20,000 (limit).
It was then implemented in February. Tewarie said, with the backlog, the average clearance time is five days. TTMA director Dale Parson gave his take on the process, explaining, “If you bring in a sensitive part (for a machine) that is $100, what you now have to do is prepare a customs entry, which will cost you about $300 to stamp. You are only allowed 48 hours rent free space at the airport. “So, by the time you get notice that the part has arrived, 24 hours gone. By the time you prepare the customs entry, another 24 hours gone. By the time you get customs clearance, it’s another two, three days. So you’re now paying rent for a hundred-dollar part that you’re waiting on and you have 200 people sitting, waiting on this part because you can’t run the factory.
President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) and director of Jimmy Aboud Textiles, Gregory Aboud described the rule as a “wild, mad stunt.”
He said, “I don’t think it is right for any of us as citizens...forget business people, to stand and watch a foolish policy, implemented in a stunt-like manner, that is going to create not only difficulties in the way we run our businesses (but) it is actually going to deaden the investment climate and the attitude of people towards the future of this country.
Several of those expressed added concern for people who have to await longer periods or pay exorbitant fees for medical supplies and pharmaceuticals because of the system’s bureaucracy.
Chairman of TSL, Nicholas Galt in a brief statement, said the Minister of Finance, the comptroller of customs, and the business community need to find a way to address the matter. “Yes, you have scamps in this country in all walks of life, but all of us you are seeing inside here today, and many others (in the business community) are involved in very good and legitimate businesses that actually make this country work,” Galt said.
Businesses want new Customs payment plan scrapped
Joel Julien
A blood sample was shipped into this country that needed to be taken to a laboratory urgently for testing.
However, because of the current delays being experienced to clear shipped items, that sample will most likely go bad.
The time frame for the clearance of items is now six days on average.
Previously items were cleared the same day.
This is an example of the "chaos" currently being faced in this country for persons trying to ship in items, Andrea Davis the country manager for DHL said yesterday.
But the situation is not only affecting individuals but also small and large businesses and even embassies.
Davis was among several of this country's chambers, business associations and logistics companies that came together yesterday to call on the government to immediately rescind the system currently in place to clear items shipped into this country as they say it is "extremely debilitating".
Davis said DHL does roughly around 700 shipments daily and 90 per cent of them are currently being bonded.
DHL is one of several courier companies operating here.
"When you have somebody who is going into surgery for a stent and that stent comes in and that stent is US$100 and the man cannot have that surgery on a Thursday and the specialist flies out or they have no other operating time the next week what happens then?" eZone CEO Paul Pantin said.
Pantin said the delays could be costing US$50,000 a day.
"Far from facilitating legitimate trade what is happening now is frustrating legitimate trade and it must be reversed if the country, which is trying to get out of a recession, is to have a chance to do so by allowing business to do what business needs to do," chief executive officer of the American Chamber of Industry and Commerce Nirad Tewarie said yesterday.
Yesterday's meeting was held at AMCHAM's head office on Maraval Road in Port-of-Spain and included representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association, the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association among others.
Tewarie said in 2011 the then minister of finance in a budget statement recognising the inefficiency at the airport and ease of doing business and recognising the growth of the logistics industry packages under $20,000 for commercial and individual use would not require bonding.
In 2018 Customs and Excise said because there was no change in the law this practice was not legal and needed to be fixed.
As a result Customs started implementing new measures to deal with this situation.
"It is causing a significant disruption in business operations," Tewarie said.
Tewarie said a big part of customs mandate is to facilitate legitimate trade and not just to collect revenue and support the borders.
"What we would like to see happen now is an immediate reversion to the old system, and we are willing to work with customs to implement the new system in an efficient manner. That's Option A. Option B which to us is more desirable because it is just makes more sense is that we revert to the old system immediately and the government changes the law to allow for the items valued at less than $20,000 to come in as they were previously," he said.
Tewarie said this was the first time under his tenure as AMCHAM CEO the groups came together in this manner.
"This is not our style, we do not like doing things like this. We believe in dialogue and collaboration to find solutions but the situation facing us at the airport and by us I mean the business community in particular but it is starting to spill over to affect individuals now is increasingly severe at a time when we cannot afford it," he said.
Aboud said the situation currently facing the county with the shipping in of items is "worse than the coronavirus". ( )
"I would like to say that probably the most respectful way I can refer to this is as a wild, mad stunt, and the reason I can say that with some sense of confidence about the characterisation of this as a stunt is that this has actually been done with zero interaction or consideration for the destruction of confidence and the roadblock that it creates," Aboud said.
TTMA Director Dale Parsons, FedEx Operations Manager Shameel Mandol and FedEx Country Manager Stephen DeFreitas also attended yesterday's meeting.
T&T Chamber CEO Gabriel Faria was unable to attend yesterday's meeting but sent a message voicing his support.
hydroep wrote:Can't help but think (given customs unpreparedness to deal with the situation) that this thing has been implemented as a sort of short-man...ah mean "smart man" way to reduce the demand for forex.
If things become that much more expensive a significant chunk of discretionary purchases from small to medium entities in the private sector gonna fall off a cliff leaving more US$ for the big boys...
boxy wrote:Air condition units cannot be imported/cleared without an import Licence This falls under the Ministry of Trade - Licence unit
Customs won't release your goods without the presentation of said Licence. They don't need to read literature u provide as that is not within their purvue. Try to get your Licence sorted before it arrives similarly to what is Done with cars.Ben_spanna wrote:Try bringing in an air conditioner that has the new gases in it.. alot of those fking morons in customs are not fimilar with the new standard and emerging changes in GAses and they will hold your item for Months , even when you have provided all literature for them to go along with it....they just too friking lazy and dont have time to read all dat so they leave your items right there..meanwhile you are incurring rent.
This place really going backwards!
PNM made for you, they after your money and wants you give money to 1% .toyolink wrote:Importation of cargo into this country is a function of consumer demand and presently recreational imports has reduced significantly due to decreased disposable incomes.
Draconian customs measures which act as embargos would only serve to encourage black market type market responses which would put more hurt on our forex condition and frustrate the revenue earning possibilities for the state.
Imagine after the placement of a online tax a few years ago, now the state has made online shopping almost impossible for the average individual
dogg wrote:customs is probably the most corrupt, bobol infested institution in the country
And I take full advantage of it!!
a couple years ago I brought down a large shipment of personal home furnishings etc via sea freight. I calculated the duties to be $14,000 or so. But I had a partner, who have a partner who have a partner.
He tell me when i reach to clear ask for him.
He say tell the officer everything valued at $5000tt.
I see him whisper something to the customs officer.
Officer watch the goods and say $300 due.
So I ended up paying $800 in all.
$500 was for the partner partner partner.
Phone Surgeon wrote:Dogg steal more than most of them bandit on tv who he does say deserve to die for stealing . Wdmc
I explained this but not in so many words. This is 100% true.The_Honourable wrote:Saw this on fb
Written by Nebert Marin
Please don't be fooled, the 1% are not upset about the new Customs procedure - they are loving it.
First they made the powerful buddies implement the 7% tax for online purchases. They justified that by saying it saves on foreign exchange depletion by discouraging online purchases. But what depletes foreign reserves more, people practicing just in time purchasing of only what they need when they need it or the 1% using up tons of US cash to stockpile their warehouses with the goods they want you to sell you ?
The 7% online tax didn't deter you from making your online purchases because the additional cost was still less than their 300% markups. So they then approached their elected buddies to prioritize the allocation of US currency for their businesses by passing the currency through their manufacturing businesses but using the funds to purchase products for their retail establishments.
Small business responded by making payments with personal credit cards instead of wire transfers. How did the 1% respond ??? by lobbying the banks to restrict credit card purchasing limits. That attempt to try steering customers their way didn't have the desired effect either so what next...?
They've gone back to their buddies in power to disrupt your shipping process while simultaneously having their lobbying group launch an anti-counterfeit goods campaign to once again steer customers their way. In this case however it's not counterfeit good though, just goods that they don't sell like detergent at the side of the road.
Until you see the 1% lining up in the bank just like you to beg to get a lil US$100 to travel, don't believe for a second that they're upset with all that is being done to disrupt small business and your ability to make a living or the suffering you're going through. #ThePowerOf99Percent, #Power99.
zoom rader wrote:Folks we need to stand firm and boycott doing any bussiness with 1% .
Just don't buy from them , support local afro and injun bussiness that are not linked to these nasty 1% folk. Stop shopping at their business.
Imbert to meet Customs on bond payment change
Renuka Singh
Ag Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert lays some papers before the House during yesterday’s sitting of Parliament. Imbert also said he did not give any instructions to the Customs and Excise Division related to a recent decision to change the bond payment policy the Piarco International Airport.
The current chaos being experienced by businesses with the new payment system implemented by Customs and Excise at the Piarco International Airport bond is a result of the body enforcing a 2011 law brought about by former minister of finance Winston Dookeran.
Acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert made the comment yesterday as he responded to questions by Mayaro Member of Parliament Rushton Paray about the public outcry from the business sector regarding the inability of Customs and Excise to properly manage the “bonding” of all packages in the Express Logistics sector. Paray asked Imbert if he could state whether he will reconsider this instruction until the Customs and Excise Division is properly resourced to do so.
But Imbert said Paray’s question was based on the false premise that Customs and Excise was acting on governmental instructions.
“There was no instruction by the Government to do this, I just want to make that crystal clear. The Government and the Minister of Finance did not instruct Customs to do anything with respect to what is known as Express Logistics consignments,” Imbert said.
“Apparently, in 2010/2011 budget statement, the then minister of finance, Mr Dookeran, had made a statement in the budget statement that goods, consignments of under $20,000 would not require a formal customs entry. In that statement, he also said that this does not require an amendment to the Customs Act.
“It appears, based on preliminary research, that that is not correct. It does appear that it does require an amendment to the Customs Act. That amendment was never made.”
According to Imbert, Customs has just now decided to enforce the law.
“The law requires both an entry and a declaration,” Imbert said.
However, the new policy has resulted in lengthy delays at the bond and prompted several business bodies and companies to call on the Government to rescind the policy during a press conference on Thursday.
Yesterday, Imbert said the matter only became a publicly controversial one on Thursday when those several business chambers jointly revealed their dissatisfaction with the change.
“Prior to that, there was no direct intervention or no direct entreaty to the Minister of Finance. There were discussions, apparently, at a lower level between business organisations and Customs,” he said.
Imbert also said that prior to Dookeran’s rule change in 2011, the value threshold for small consignments that do not require entry was $1,000. Dookeran changed that to $20,000.
“It was strangely and mysteriously moved from $1000 to $20,000 just so. There was no science behind it,” he said.
Imbert said that to bypass the new rules, some companies would bring in several shipments, all under $20,000.
“There were ten shipments, 20 shipments all valued at $19,500,” he said.
However, he said that with express consignments, the courier services are now required to prepare an entry which they were not doing before and that is where the problem arose.
“I have asked the Customs and Excise Division to explain to me exactly what is happening, what was done over the past ten years or so, what are the consequences and implications of what they are doing,” he said.
“We are looking at it from both sides. One side, the ease of doing business, the other side we would want to avoid leakage of revenue and importation of illegal items.”
Imbert said that more problems arise when there is no Customs entry form.
“You have to understand that if there is no Customs entry then the information is not being put into the computerised system, making it impossible for Customs to do random checks, and to check the manifesto to see exactly what the items are.”
Despite the stagnation at Customs and Excise due to the new policy, Imbert said he would not be reacting in a “knee-jerk” manner to the issue.
“We need to be careful and not have a knee-jerk reaction and just jump into it,” he said.
He promised to have a response by the end of next week after he met with the relevant bodies and gathered the relevant information.
On Thursday, several local business chambers, courier companies and business associations called on the Government to immediately rescind the changes. The amalgamated group claimed that the delays meant that some businesses were losing as much as US$50,000 a day.
1% calling the shots bro.paid_influencer wrote:zoom rader wrote:Folks we need to stand firm and boycott doing any bussiness with 1% .
Just don't buy from them , support local afro and injun bussiness that are not linked to these nasty 1% folk. Stop shopping at their business.
I don't believe in boycotts. Trade benefits all parties. Boycotts would, by necessity, hurt all parties.
What I want is for Indos and Afros to view each other as the same tribe. Too many people walking around with racial goggles and fighting down each other like crabs in barrel.
example: people blaming businesses when customs implements absurd unannounced rule changes.
zoom rader wrote:I explained this but not in so many words. This is 100% true.The_Honourable wrote:Saw this on fb
Written by Nebert Marin
Please don't be fooled, the 1% are not upset about the new Customs procedure - they are loving it.
First they made the powerful buddies implement the 7% tax for online purchases. They justified that by saying it saves on foreign exchange depletion by discouraging online purchases. But what depletes foreign reserves more, people practicing just in time purchasing of only what they need when they need it or the 1% using up tons of US cash to stockpile their warehouses with the goods they want you to sell you ?
The 7% online tax didn't deter you from making your online purchases because the additional cost was still less than their 300% markups. So they then approached their elected buddies to prioritize the allocation of US currency for their businesses by passing the currency through their manufacturing businesses but using the funds to purchase products for their retail establishments.
Small business responded by making payments with personal credit cards instead of wire transfers. How did the 1% respond ??? by lobbying the banks to restrict credit card purchasing limits. That attempt to try steering customers their way didn't have the desired effect either so what next...?
They've gone back to their buddies in power to disrupt your shipping process while simultaneously having their lobbying group launch an anti-counterfeit goods campaign to once again steer customers their way. In this case however it's not counterfeit good though, just goods that they don't sell like detergent at the side of the road.
Until you see the 1% lining up in the bank just like you to beg to get a lil US$100 to travel, don't believe for a second that they're upset with all that is being done to disrupt small business and your ability to make a living or the suffering you're going through. #ThePowerOf99Percent, #Power99.
Yet still elite pnm ppl lick these people arses.
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