Customs conundrum
Brokers, freight forwarders call for probe into JCA’s rationale for implementing new contactless clearance policy
Published:Monday | April 15, 2024 | 12:12 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
New questions are being raised about the Jamaica Customs Agency’s (JCA) insistence on implementing a contactless clearance policy, with Clive Coke, immediate past president of the Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica (CBFFAJ), declaring that the agency stands to lose more than it will gain.
“We just want to ask persons, especially in the media, to really seek to investigate why is it Customs is so hell-bent to implement this process,” Coke said as he addressed the CBFFAJ’s annual general meeting yesterday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.
“There is very little to gain for Customs. They are exposing themselves to lawsuits. There is also a lot of risk, and they are yet to say who is responsible for missing goods and damage.”
The new policy, which will see inspection of non-commercial cargo being carried out by warehouse operators, in the absence of importers or agents, was slated to officially commence on April 2 but has since been placed on hold due to a court injunction that was sought by the CBFFAJ.
The Supreme Court last month granted the association the injunction, restraining the agency from implementing the policy pending the hearing of an application for permission to apply for Judicial Review on April 25.
Implementation of the policy has been a bone of contention for the association since 2021 when it first learnt of the JCA’s plans. Among the association’s arguments for opposing the policy are that it believes it to be illegal and inconsistent with the Customs Act, the Customs Regulations, the Revised Kyoto Convention, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.
The association, which maintained that it had been in the dark about the policy and was never consulted, had objected to move, forcing a postponement of the policy. Instead, a pilot was implemented from October 2022 to January 2023.
However, Coke, during yesterday’s meeting, reiterated: “There is nothing contactless about the process. They are still checking 100 per cent. You have not come to us to say you are introducing new technology; you are implementing risk-management approaches.
“You want to continue doing things the same old way, but you want to remove the one group authorised globally, and we are an intricate part of the process.”
Not being truthful
Coke also accused the agency of not being truthful in its communication about the policy. He said that though the agency was able to convince the commerce ministry, it was not true that brokers would not be affected as the agency policy was only focusing on goods under US$5,000.
Pointing to another alleged inaccuracy, the CBFFAJ president said the Customs agency had released information stating that brokers only handled six per cent of commercial goods but changed the figure to 12 per cent and 14 per cent after it was disputed.
However, notwithstanding the new data, which is still in doubt, he said the association’s attorney had advised that regardless of the figure, the brokers had an interest and must be involved in the process.
According to Coke, the JCA has not addressed any of the association’s concerns since the issue surfaced and has refused to engage with the CBFFAJ in a meaningful way despite continued efforts.
He claimed that the JCA took a year to respond to a letter from the association’s attorney and that the response was merely an acknowledgement of the correspondence.
Coke argued further that when the policy was first introduced, it was presented as one process that would incorporate the clearance of all goods, including personal and commercial. However, he said, when it was reintroduced, around 2022, it was sectioned into phases without any consultation with the CBFFAJ.
“Now we are seeing where they are saying, in phase one, it’s goods under US$5,000, so it doesn’t concern you guys, so wait until it’s your turn. But we pointed out to them that goods under US$5,000 also include commercial goods, and, furthermore, you can’t exclude a broker,” Coke said.
Continuing, the president argued that digging deeper into the issue only solidified the position that customs brokers and the customs broker clerks should be in the examination space and represent the interest of the importers, most of whom are not interested in being present.
“So when persons talk about crowding the spaces, who is creating the crowd? You are the one who is involved in all and sundry, being in the space,” he said.
“Why now Customs is looking to remove a certain group of professionals who are recognised under the act [from] the space?” Coke asked.
Contacted by The Gleaner for comment, the JCA said, “Seeing it is before the court, outside of providing information about the actual contactless clearance process (which is still optional to our customers) we will not comment at this time.”