According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Anguilla has requested technical assistance from the Barbados- based Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre CARTAC to upgrade the Customs Department. This assistance is expected to facilitate a comprehensive review of the national Customs Legislation.
CARTAC is one of ten regional technical assistance Centres stationed around the world with locations in the Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, India and Central America. These Centres were created to help countries strengthen human and institutional capacity and to design and implement sound macroeconomic policies geared towards promoting growth and reducing poverty.
The IMF says that it is recognized that the existing legal framework for Customs in Anguilla is outdated and does not have the requisite foundation to support its modernization.
The Customs Department and Ministry of Finance have requested that the primary legislation be replaced by a completely new Customs Act based on the CARICOM Model Legislation for Customs, and where appropriate to the context of Anguilla. It is also requested that the upgrade incorporates the provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) the World Customs Organisation (WCO) safe frameworks.
The IMF indicated that in April of last year, CARTAC experts conducted a review of the existing customs legislation and submitted a report with a proposed structure for new Customs Legislation and key recommendations on the way forward. It says that the new engagement is a follow up to the April 2022 mission.
The IMF stated that the mission presented a framework for a Customs Act in line with the recommendations made in the CARTAC Technical Assistance Assignment Report of April 2022. The IMF also said that a major challenge for the Customs Administration would be growing the capacity to be able to deliver all that has been added into the Act, for example: Advanced Rulings, Trusted Trader Programmes, Customs Brokers, and drafting regulatory provisions which would be needed at the same time that the Act comes into force.
The Anguillian reached out to the Minister responsible for Customs, the Honourable Premier, Ellis L. Webster, for a comment on the proposed upgrade.
“This technical assistance and the revamping of the current system at customs would help to modernize customs legislation so that it can be harmonized with legislation in the OECS,” the Premier said. “This assistance would serve to help us incorporate modern technology in the system which would enable features such as the more efficient clearing of containers. Generally, an upgrade would expedite the process of moving items through Customs quicker.”
He stressed that modernization of the Customs legislation would provide for more reliable programmes, like the Trusted Trader Programme, which would allow faster clearance on imported goods.
