Amcham, Customs focus on ending backlog at Piarco bond

The American Chamber of Commerce of TT (Amcham) and Customs have agreed to focus on two immediate and critical issues – goods damaged from exposure and the unacceptable backlog to clear goods.

"Over the past several weeks, hundreds of items brought in via the airport are left exposed to the elements resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses," Amcham said in a statement to its members. This is directly related to the backlog – if the goods are not cleared and the bond becomes full, goods stay outside until there is space. "Several (if not all) companies have backlogs of over five days at the airport. The standard should be same-day clearance once companies have all their documents completed as per the Customs process."

The business lobby noted that for months, delays and overcrowding, and more recently, the destruction of cargo due to the exposure at Piarco International Airport, have been causing severe disruptions to businesses across the country. "These disruptions are not limited to cargo reporters (courier companies or sky box operators as they are sometimes called) but extend to the tens of thousands of micro, small, medium and large businesses who rely on “just in time” services to keep their operations running efficiently.

Amcham acknowledged that Customs is trying to accommodate requests. It noted the establishment of a working group facilitated by the Ministry of Finance in July to help resolve these issues, jointly chaired by deputy comptroller Vidyah Marcial and Amcham, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary Savitree Seepersad representing the Ministry. Other members of the working group include the largest courier companies in the country, airlines that transport cargo for couriers, including Amerijet and Caribbean Airlines, and Swissport, which operates one of the Express Clearing facilities at Piarco. Together these companies represent over 80 per cent of the trade coming in via Express Logistics into the country.

Amcham said it recognises that Customs is working to improve these processes, as they are transitioning from a manual system to a fully automated system. "This will take some time but we are confident that with continued honest and open collaboration between all parties, our shared objectives will be achieved."

Amcham said it was hopeful that continued collaboration with the Minister of Finance and his team will expedite this process further. "We look forward to continuing the collaboration toward meaningful solutions...in order to attract local and foreign investment to grow and strengthen our economy."

Over the short time parties have been meeting, Amcham said it has seen some minor improvements "and even though small, we acknowledge that this type of collaboration is indicative of a mature society. We will continue to combine our capabilities, resources, and assets so that we can be successful."

It noted that Customs is operating under severe human resource and infrastructural constraints, including technological infrastructure, and said it would do what it can to assist.