Customs Duty Changes Coming Into Effect
Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox will table legislation in the House of Assembly amending the Customs Tariff Act 1970 increasing the rate of duty payable on accompanied goods imported for personal use from 25 percent to 35 percent.
In addition, the $100 duty free allowance for returning residents will be restricted so that where two or more members of the same household return to the Island on the same aircraft or vessel, only one may claim the allowance.
The new measures come into effect on Friday [Nov. 4].
“Members of the same household” means persons living in the same residence, regardless of whether or not they are related; and so includes persons living in the same residence due to an employer-employee relationship, a house-sharing arrangement, or for any other reason.
The $100 allowance restriction is intended to be of limited duration and will end on March 31, 2012.
Announced by Premier Cox in the summer, the tariff changes are a part of a basket of temporary measures to assist local businesses that have a pressing need for financial relief due to the ongoing global recession.
Specifically, the tariff measures are intended to discourage personal spending abroad, and to help steer expenditure into the local retail sector, thereby boosting sales and keeping approximately 4,000 Bermudians employed in local stores.
Accompanied personal goods that are currently zero-rated in the tariff will be unaffected by this change — they will remain dutiable at 0%. The duty rate for cigarettes will also remain unchanged at $35 per 200 cigarettes.
The duty rate increase does not affect importers of commercial goods. Nor does the restriction of the $100 duty allowance affect any other duty free allowance. For example, each arriving passenger will still be allowed to import one litre of wine, one litre of spirits, 0.5kg of tobacco, 50 cigars and 200 cigarettes without payment of duty.
There has been no change to the Customs Traveller Declaration form. Arriving passengers will continue to make their CTD in accordance with the guidance on that form.
Likewise there will be no change in the currently available methods of paying duty. Arriving passengers will continue to have the option of paying import duty in excess of their allowances at either the customs cashier window or online by Automated Teller Machine or Kiosk.
Travellers who have questions regarding applicable duty rates or duty free allowances may ask a customs officer at the L. F. Wade International Airport or telephone airport Customs on 293-2424
So the reason this all could not be implemented on October 1, as first announced on Sept 30, was because Cox had no legal authority to do it then. It is only now that they can table the necessary legislation to make it legal. Yet Cox’s first attempt at explaining the delay until Nov 4 was “On the customs duty changes at the airport, given the time required to make system changes, including the changes to bank kiosks at the airport that are used for payment of customs duty”.
Why the silly nonsense story about having to change the airport bank kiosks? I guess she was misleading us because she had to….
a consistently incompetent cog.
how about we just charge all our importation goods to those responsible for, um, squandering so many funds on the last Premier’s watch. i mean, technically enough money is unaccounted for to pay at least one year for us. And then the people responsible can legitimately say they did something for this country
force us to pay for the PLP incompetence….
Why should we pay for PLP icompetence again? How does Paula feel this is aiding the average person? Who is this helping exactly short of the cabinet members ensuring they can pay their own own unearned salaries will this plan be aimed at helping?
This is a slap in the face to Bermudians. Had Paula done her job, she wouldnt have allowed it to all be spent during a recession… or is this just making too much sense? How stupid of me to think this way…
I love the topic. “Customs Duty Changes”.
Yah betcha we have changed our customs.
No one gives a s**t anymore.
Irony.
“The $100 allowance restriction is intended to be of limited duration and will end on March 31, 2012″
Sooooo…. Is the 35% perminant?
let it get comfortable… then it will be permanent….
You suck, Paula Cox!
I couldn’t have said it better!!
agreed
it’s all good, this will ensure that the PLP does not get voted back in
All of you complainers have the option of not travelling during that period, thus totally avoiding having to pay the increase for the incompetence that you speak of. The ball is in your court.
No, no…I still plan to travel and I still plan to shop like a crazy person. The difference is that I will NOT even be paying the old 25% duty let alone the new 35% duty!!! I will be shipping all of my purchases to myself via US Express and only paying 6.5% duty on clothes and only 5% on the 2 MAC computers I plan to buy!!! (plus nominal shipping fees) Yay for me! I am so glad that this whole duty issue came up because before, I was used to paying the 25% and I accepted that. When this 35% nonsense came up, I decided to do my research and found how crazy I was being for even paying 25% and hauling it through the airport myself! Now, you have lost the 25% that I had been accustomed to paying and you certainly won’t be getting 35% out of me!!!
6.5 through US Express!!! (Those guys will be having a fabulous Christmas this year!!! Enjoy the new financial windfall brought to you by the PLP!!!)
Just picked up a package from US Express and I paid a lot more than 6.5% duty.
Get Real, you’re talking rubbish. The 35% is PERMANENT. The talk by Cox about 6 months was to make all you PLP suckers think it was temporary. Read the press release. The 35% is PERMANENT.
Get used to being treated like suckers. And get used to higher taxes. We’re all going to be poorer except for the PLP political elite, who are getting richer and richer.
You’re all suckers.
Call it what you may D*ck S*ck, I mean Rick Rock (whatever your name is)! lol
come on – we’re so far in the sh!t right now that there will be no choice but to make it permanent.
increasing the rate of duty payable on accompanied goods imported for personal use from 25 percent to 35 percent.
In addition, the $100 duty free allowance for returning residents will be restricted so that where two or more members of the same household return to the Island on the same aircraft or vessel, only one may claim the allowance.
The $100 allowance restriction is intended to be of limited duration and will end on March 31, 2012.
So looks like the 35% is permanent.
The PLP Government shafting Bermuda since 1998
So Bernews, this guy puts two asterisks in there and puts and obviously obscene comment on here. I’d have though the editorial process would be better. Is this comment section designed to be for adults only?
Gimme dat bread!!!
….& the rich get richer! If the store owners didn’t make things so expensive maybe JUST maybe people would mind buying things. We are in recession so they raise their prices…ummm duh it effects everyone including your customers. Why pay 50 for a shirt when we can get it in america for 10? I am really disgusted!
wouldn’t mind*
The ultimate aim is to raise import duties for everything you bring in
to 35%, and that includes shipping it in to avoid paying it at the airport
If you are a licensed importer then you still get to use our antiquated tariff!
Wait for it……it’s gonna happen
(not my idea, but have seen it in black and white)
I will be shopping like crazy and shipping it all back!!!!!!
same here – figure it out…. Especially if you’re bringing in clothes. Send it back parcel post….
If you give me the choices and the service that I receive overseas maybe JUST maybe I might spend my hard earned pittance in Bermuda. Then again, if I go overseas I get much better selections, much better prices and much better service and a big plus is that I don’t see “me” every where because I had a choice of sizes and styles that aren’t available here, and a vacation at the same time.
It is interesting how fast this legislation got drafted, introduced and passed. Meanwhile, where is PATI? Where is the legislation empowering the Auditor General to be able to better scrutinize all of these shady deals by following the dollar?
Where is that legislation and why hasn’t that been passed already?
At last , the $64,000 question !
If the past is a guide, this hastily drafted Legislation will be flawed and won’t pass the House on its first attempt. Presumably it is a bill that doesn’t need to go to the Senate then the Governor otherwise Friday will be a very busy day.
That’s a good question. They do what they want, as fast as they want, when it suits the agenda.
What a kneejerk reaction to the situation we’re in.
that she didn’t have the authority to make the changes she announced on her own? The law actually got in her way? So much for being a competent lawyer.
So we have a corrupt and incompetent PLP government who has been stealing OUR money since in power. Now the piggy bank is empty they want to hike duty rates, double ferry fares etc! The whole lot should be going to jail, that’s what they do to crooks!!
How is raising the duty rate going to encourage us to shop in Bermuda when most things cant be brought here or cost way to much. “I buy a toy for my son in the U.S. for $15 and her it will cost over $50″ Its so disgusting and just plain pathetic that the so called “government” is trying to make more money by stealing from regular Bermudians “because wealthy residents wont be effected” by hiding behind the lie that they are doing it to help out the local economy. I thought I had seen it all when Brown was in power but Cox in my opinion is far worse than brown because at least I knew that i didn’t trust Brown from the beginning but with Cox I’m not sure if its a good intention bad decision thing or is she cut from the same cloth as Brown or she just doesn’t know what she is doing. Voted PLP in 98 and so one but will be voting for the independent this time or not at all.
Visitors get a better deal then locals.
Visitors get a $30 gift allowance every 31 days per person. (not limited to household)
So if a visiting family of 4 declare $400 and deduct their allowance; they will pay $98 in duty.
$400 – $120 = $280; $280 x 35% = $98
A family of 4 go on vacation and return home, they declare the same $400 of goods. They have to pay $105 in Customs duty.
$400 – $100 = $300; $300 x 35% = $105
I can accept the increase in the rate. But to limit the allowance to 1 person per household is just hurting little person. I haven’t travelled with my family in over 5 years yet when I go to Disney, I have to pay for govt mistakes?
Suggestion: Lets also amend the act to include that any Govt employee, minister, MP, or quango member who has to travel in whole or in part on Govt business does not get an allowance.
WTF Paula? Instead of finding ways to make more money to fix your mistakes how about you find a way to stop spending so much damn money!!!! You are straight up ruining this country I give you an F for all you have done
so how does shipping clothing back work??