Dominica Customs and Excise Division Announces TradeStream’s Pilot

Uncategorized

ROSEAU, Dominica — The Customs and Excise Division, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, and Digitised Solutions Ltd., is thrilled to unveil the pilot phase of TradeStream – Dominica. The platform promises to be a game-changer, offering a multi-agency collaborative workflow that optimizes the import licence procedure and Plant Quarantine cargo inspection at Roseau, Dominica’s main cargo port. Further enhancing user experience, the platform integrates with the Government of Dominica’s online payment service to enable hassle-free payment of Customs Taxes and other services offered on TradeStream.

 

About the Multi-Agency Collaborative Pilot Phase:

The pilot phase is setting new benchmarks in efficiency and collaboration:

  1. Import Licence Procedure for the Ministry of Trade: Streamlines the multi-agency application, review, and approval process for import licenses.
  2. Plant Quarantine Cargo Inspection at Roseau Port: Accelerates cargo inspection and release by interconnecting various agencies involved in the process.
  3. Integration with Government’s Online Payment Service: Facilitates easy online payment for Customs Taxes and services from other participating agencies, making the entire trade process more user-friendly and efficient.

Montserrat Customs Officers Successfully Complete Two-Week Attachment with Antigua Customs Division

Uncategorized

 

The Montserrat Customs and Revenue Service wishes to announce the successful completion of a two-week period of attachment for Six Junior and Trainee Customs Officers and one supervisor with the Antigua Customs Division. The period of attachment ran from August 7th to 18th with the officers departing Montserrat on the 6th of August and returning on Island the 19th of August.

While in Antigua, the team worked primarily at busy customs stations such as: Airport Customs Baggage Unit, the Custom Enforcement Unit, Heritage Quay Cruise Ship Processing Unit, The Deep Water Harbor Cargo Transit shed and Tariff Unit, Air Cargo Tariff Unit and Air Cargo Warehouse operations as well as at the English Harbor and Jolly Harbor Yacht processing stations.
As part of the entry training and induction of new Customs officers, they would generally be required to attend a Regional Junior Basic Customs Officers training course before they are confirmed into post.
This course is held in a neighboring island.
Montserrat has not been able to send anyone to these courses since 2019, because of the Covid Pandemic when no such in-person courses were held. While there are some theoretical courses done online, the MCRS found practical demonstration and hands-on experience to be essential to allow for proper understanding and development of related skills. As a result, the MCRS reached out to the Antigua Customs Division and sought their assistance in accommodating this period of attachment for some the officers.

Jamaica switches to digital travel declaration

Uncategorized

  The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority has switched to an online paperless travel declaration system, and from Friday, it will be mandatory for all passengers travelling to the island, including Jamaican nationals, to use the Online Passenger Declaration Form instead of the paper C5 form. Cayman Airways urged passengers to go online before flying this…

Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) Graduation Ceremony for New Recruits –January 27th, 2023

Training, Uncategorized

The CBC has successfully delivered training to twenty four new officers using a combination of online training and instructor-led training. The CCLEC online Junior Officer Basic course formed an integral part of the training program which provided new recruits with the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their duties as officers within the CBC.  The CCLEC JOB course consists of twenty-one modules which covers the full range of customs operations and was a critical element in the transformation process towards establishing the CBC with its multi-agency functions.

International Customs Day 2023

Uncategorized

 

In observance of International Customs Day, the WCO’s theme for 2023 is “Nurturing the next generation: promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in Customs.” This theme is very relevant to the Customs fraternity in the region and the CCLEC is committed to working with member administrations to build capacity in keeping with this goal.

Customs is a complex organisation with multi-facetted functions and responsibilities that are often misunderstood and underestimated even by business leaders, government officials, and the general public. Most people tend to focus on the revenue collection role, which invokes emotional responses from those who are required to pay border taxes on importation. In this region, customs duties are relatively high compared to more developed and emerging countries, and in some instances represent over 50% of the annual revenue yield in some of our smaller economies. Governments have become very reliant on Customs and VAT for financing a major part of annual budgets. Notwithstanding the above, it is important to point out that the mission of Customs in today’s context includes a fiscal element (revenue collection) an economic element (implementing government policies), and a protection and security element (law enforcement and compliance). All three aspects are intrinsically linked to international trade. [1]

Those charged to perform the duties of a Customs officer must be well trained, knowledgeable of various legislation, regulations, directives, and administrative instructions. They must also be equipped with the necessary tools to effectively and efficiently carry out those duties.

Congratulations to Jamaica (WCO Photo Award)

Uncategorized

CCLEC congratulates Jamaica on winning the 2018 photo competition.

The WCO has awarded Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) the best Customs photo for the photo competition. The photo competition provides WCO members with a means to showcase their administration’s history, activities and successes.

Commissioner Velma Ricketts Walker received the award on behalf of her department.