“Goods must move” is the motto of the St. Kitts & Nevis Customs and Excise Department, says Mr. Kennedy DaSilva, Comptroller of Customs and Excise in the twin Federation. This guiding principle was shared at the first Virtual Executive Luncheon of the Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce attended by members and other invited guests, including Officers of the Ministry of Commerce and the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as invited guests from the private sector of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

The Luncheon hosted on Tuesday June 23^rd, 2020 used the Zoom platform thus ensuring social distancing. Participants ordered and consumed their Lunch at their convenience of choice dish and location. The presentation delivered by Mr. DaSilva was enlightening and informative both in the philosophy guiding the St. Kitts & Nevis Customs and Excise Department as well as in the practical manner in which they seek to ensure that the people of St. Kitts & Nevis and the business community benefit from, courteous customer focused quick and efficient service, while securing higher revenue intake for Government, high fines, more interdiction and lower prices for consumers.

From the manner in which they greet and treat passengers at the airport, to working closely with the numerous courier companies, using canine units, technology, constant training of staff, risk assessment, keeping customer service and ensuring a cordial working relationship with the private sector as key priorities. Mr. DaSilva shared the St. Kitts story and case study that left the participants realizing, “we can do this in St. Lucia”.  

The Caribbean Network of Chambers of Commerce, (CARICHAM) which both St. Lucia and St. Kitts Chamber are active participants in created this vehicle for sharing of best practice, which we hope will catalyze an appetite for improvement in the way import and exports are handled in St. Lucia and other islands. St. Kitts presents a different paradigm in how trade facilitation is made a reality and benefits the consumer and common man. Pointing out that the aim is to have cargo released an at business premises within 2 hours of being off loaded and that the processes utilized by Customs in St. Kitts seek to impact positively the common man and not just businesses.

Mr. Da Silva indicated that from his and experience of other countries the traditional confrontational approach of the typical Customs & Excise Departments did not work and the use of a primary declaration approach, using modern management practices, where voluntary compliance program similar to an authorized economic operator one, that relies on advanced information including passenger and goods, manifests use of the ASCYUDA World customs entry program, which facilitates risk assessment, and thus minimizes container inspection and delays in goods delivery.

The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce has for years been part of the discussion with the St. Lucia Customs and Excise Department and other stakeholders on similar initiatives. While the Customs & Excise Department of St. Lucia were not able to join the luncheon, the recoding will be shared with the Department and it is hoped that this will provide some impetus for action to be taken in that regard. Of particular interest for the Chamber is the issue of using the information from ASCYUDA World to identify the largest importers and conducting some risk profile and using that to reduce the extent of examination of containers and increasing the quantity of containers examined when needed during normal working hours.