Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson
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Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson
By Racquel Porter
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson is urging the Ministry of Finance to provide explicit guidelines on the eligibility criteria for duty-free relief on imports related to Hurricane Beryl recovery.
On July 24, the government announced a temporary relief from customs duty and General Consumption Tax on goods imported for rehabilitation works linked to Hurricane Beryl.
The relief runs from July 4 to August 23.
Mr. Robinson is calling for the Ministry of Finance to urgently issue a comprehensive and detailed list with accompanying guidelines to facilitate effective relief efforts.
He said since the announcement of duty-free relief, there has been a troubling lack of specificity regarding which goods qualify for this exemption and in what quantities.
The Shadow Finance Minister said this ambiguity is causing unnecessary confusion and uncertainty among those seeking to import essential relief supplies.
"It is important for persons who wish to take advantage of this programme to know how they can go about applying and what they can bring in to support family and friends who have been affected by the hurricane. It is imperative that the ministry moves quickly so that the window which now exists for those persons can be taken advantage of," he pleaded.
Mr. Robinson also expressed concern over reported disruptions in the Customs ASYCUDA software system, which have led to significant backlogs at the island's ports.
"It is important that Customs moves very quickly to fix the system so that we don't have a backlog which currently exists," he stressed.
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