Customs Comptroller John Rolle has reported that despite a fiscal year plagued by the ravages of a very active hurricane season, his department was able to collect $20 million more in revenue last year compared to 2003-2004.
Mr. Rolle told The Bahama Journal that revenues totaled $627 million. It was up from $607 million in 2003-2004 and $560 million in 2002-2003.
He credited the increase to a thriving economy and hopes that the trend continues through this fiscal year.
“When you have a rather robust economy some people take the [time] to make improvements,” Mr. Rolle said. “There were some people making preparations for the upcoming hurricane season. Some people sustained minimal damage the previous year. They too made some preparations.”
The increase is considered an exemplary achievement given the impact last year’s hurricane season had on the Bahamian economy. In fact, Prime Minister Perry Christie had reported that the storms cost several hundred million dollars in damage.
In the wake of the storms, the government put in place a new duty free regime to help islands devastated by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne to rebuild.
According to Mr. Rolle, it initially led to a slowdown in revenue in October and November, but by the holiday season collections were back up.
“There were items that would have been given duty free concessions, but there were other items that did not receive duty free concessions,” he explained. “It meant that it would feed the whole process.
“After a given time generators were no longer duty free. Therefore, people would bring in the generators because they saw it as a good idea. They tried to prevent having to go through the same conditions during the next period.”
The increase does not suggest smooth sailing for the customs department, according to the comptroller, who indicated that there still remains a number of issues facing his department.
“There is always the problem of wanting the appropriate amount of resources be it human resources or technology and getting those items and tools in a timely fashion,” Mr. Rolle said.
“But we must continue to serve with whatever resources we have.”
Mr. Rolle also revealed plans for improvements to the customs department that he hopes would occur sometime this fiscal year.
He indicated that a major concern worldwide is terrorism, and that it remains the duty of the customs department to protect the Bahamian borders from certain hazardous material.
The comptroller expressed the need for new innovative technology that would detect banned material.
“We are looking now at improving the Customs Automated System of the department. We want to also introduce a wider use of x-ray technology and in the meantime we would continue to train the people we have,” Mr. Rolle said.
The department plans to invest in two x-ray machines at a total cost of $6 million. These machines would be capable of inspecting the contents of 40-foot containers within a three-minute period.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
