Supreme Court blocks April 2 implementation of mandatory contactless clearance at Customs
Published:Thursday | March 28, 2024 | 1:41 PM
The Supreme Court has granted an application blocking the April 2 implementation of mandatory contactless clearance by the Jamaica Customs Agency.
The matter was taken to court by the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association which has been calling for the repeal of the policy since it was first introduced by Jamaica Customs.
Implementation of the policy has been stayed until a review hearing, which is scheduled for April 25.
Contactless clearance is the process by which Customs conducts inspections of non-commercial cargo with a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of under US$5,000, without the importer or agent needing to be present for the exercise.
Customs rolled out its contactless clearance process option for non-commercial cargo, following a pilot undertaken from October 2022 to January 2023.
The process has, so far, remained optional, as Jamaica Customs gave a commitment to customers to provide additional payment methods before making the initiative compulsory.
However, the Association asserts that contactless clearance threatens to make their roles and functions irrelevant by conducting the physical and intrusive inspections of containers of goods without them or the importers they represent being present.
The President of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association, Clive Coke, maintains that the move by Jamaica Customs is a clear breach of the Customs Act, and World Customs Organisation Procedures and Guidelines and the Fair Competition Act.
“Jamaica's customs brokers remain highly supportive of the imperative of securing our borders from illegal imports, but we maintain that there is need for reasonableness, and for the striking of a balance by either eliminating or revamping this Contactless Clearance Policy.
"This will ensure that the interests of the businesses that we have built reliable relationships with over many years, are well represented,” adds Coke.
The Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica are represented by King's Counsel, Georgia Gibson Henlin and Stephanie Williams.
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