Delays at Customs

There are over one hundred and fifty packages waiting to be cleared at transit sheds in Trinidad. This is causing massive delays for citizens and businesses to receive their goods in time for Christmas. Finance Minister Colm Imbert assures that interventions are being made to clear the backlog as fast as possible.

Clarifying the situation further, Minister Imbert said the delays are primarily with packages arriving through air cargo. He blamed local couriers’ failure to provide advanced notice of their shipments and security breaches at transit sheds for the delays. The Finance Minister pointed out that some of these cases are not publicized so that investigations are not compromised due to serious national security concerns.

Imbert argues that the only solution is the implementation of a new revenue authority at the Customs and Excise Division. Meanwhile, delays in packages being cleared in Trinidad mean further delays in Tobago, according to Vice Chairman of the Tobago Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Demi John Cruickshank. Cruickshank also pointed out that there are shipment delays resulting from issues beyond the borders of Trinidad and Tobago.

While the Chamber is working with the government to clear the backlog of packages as quickly as possible, there is little they can do about ships being able to pass through the Panama Canal in a timely manner.

Tobago Updates Television News