Amended Customs Bill raises questions from businesses

The amendment to the Customs Management and Duties Act has raised some questions from businesses in the Territory as to just how the monitoring process will be instituted when it comes to passing on savings to consumers and ensuring businesses get a fair price for goods already in stock.

VI StandPoint sought the opinions of a number of businesses who commended the initiative, but called for an effective public education system to be implemented so that consumers know that they will not immediately save on goods purchased.

One businesswoman [name withheld] advised that it will take some time for the goods already in stock to be cleared and for savings on the new shipment of stock to be passed on to the consumers.

She noted that this too will vary from business to business as some inventory, like hers, would be easier to transition as opposed to stores with larger stocks.

Other businessmen called for a proper and effective monitoring system to be implemented by Government so as to ensure fairness on the side of both the business and the consuming public.

Echoing this sentiment was supermarket owner, Deon Vanterpool, who said, ““Yes, it will trickle down, but it will be a matter of time.”

Though he cannot estimate just how much time this will require, Vanterpool noted that there are other aspects that could be taken into account by government in order to make it easier on consumers’ pockets.

“One suggestion I would have for the government, and I don’t know the details of the Bill, but they should look at addressing the necessities, such as adjusting or lowering the duties on basic necessities such as toothpaste, paper towels and things like that,” Vanterpool suggested.

On the issue of monitoring to ensure that businesses comply with the law, which opposition member Hon. Andrew Fahie voiced in the House of Assembly last February 14, Vanterpool said that this is where it could possibly get tricky.

“At the end of the day, they [government] took a big plunge with the revenue and they have to ensure that whatever measures they put in place that the savings are passed on. I can’t speak for what measures they can put in place to execute this unless they are going to monitor each business one by one, which might be a bit difficult; but at the end of the day what they have to do is encourage and educate persons about the benefits of shopping in the BVI. Once they educate persons there will be a transition towards shopping here,” Vanterpool opined.

He added, “So I suggest that the government educate persons, and it is better coming from an independent source as opposed to coming from the supermarkets.”

He observed that the move is a good one, and pointed out that although Government has no authority over cost of shipping, additional costs on top of that further inflates the cost of goods.

The House of Assembly passed the amendment to the Act on February 14, which will now see customs duties being charged on the basis of Freight on Board (FOB) rather than Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF), as is the current practice.

The opposition did not support the Bill, however noble a move they consider the Bill to be in easing the economic burden of the people.

First District Representative and Opposition Member Hon. Andrew Fahie questioned the time that businesses will be given to pass on the savings. He argued the Bill does not explain how this will be dealt with.

The opposition claim the Bill ought to be ‘tightened’ to make it more effective for the people and that the main issues regarding the Bill have to do with the freight charges, rather than with the insurance.

 “The freight is what we have to go after. You have the companies that ship from the mainland into the BVI… I put it to the Premier that what we can do as a solution is to let us subsidize some of our local shipping companies here.

“We have a lot of them; them in East End, them in West End. Let’s subsidize them and send them to the main land. We subsidize smaller than that and send them to the mainland, Madame Speaker, and let them come back, Madame Speaker, where the freight is a more reasonable price….and when they come, Madame Speaker, then we would be able to hit the prices here a good punch because the freight, Madame Speaker, will be down and with the freight down, Madame Speaker, there will not be much revenue loss from the government,” Hon. Fahie suggested to the House.