By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

AMENDMENTS to the Customs Management Bill which are expected to provide for oversight of the scrap metal industry, are expected to be gazetted soon, the Minister the Environment told Tribune Business yesterday.

Earl Deveaux said: "The Customs Management Act was amended on November 4. That Act provided for Customs to bring oversight to the scrap metal business. The information I received from the Cabinet Office this morning was the Act would be gazetted today or tomorrow."

Under the Customs Management Bill, the Comptroller of Customs is mandated to establish a special investigation unit within the Customs Department to probe and inspect proposed shipments of scrap metal before they can be shipped between islands or exported from the Bahamas.

"Copper will be held for a specified period of time. Persons will have to produce a document which establishes a chain of custody to show how they came into possession of metals such as copper, aluminum and bronze," Mr Deveaux added.

The Cabinet Office issued a statement on November 1, stating that the 90-day temporary ban on the export of scrap metal, which was implemented on 27 July, would be extended by two weeks to November 11.

It was expected that by that time, the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 2011, which aims to regulate the export of scrap metal, would have taken effect. Under the provisions of the Act, business owners or dealers engaged in the export of scrap metal will have to verify the identity of customers and maintain records of all transactions.

Scrap metal export businesses are also subject to monitoring by a police-designated administrator. The Government placed the temporary ban on the scrap metal trade, while imposing a permanent ban on all copper exports, in an effort to curb the theft and destruction of property said to be linked with the industry.

Everette Rolle, proprietor of Caribbean Recycling and Trading Solutions, told Tribune Business yesterday: "We are just waiting to see what happens. We haven't really heard anything. We don't know what is happening but we are being patient."