* GB goods clearance system down for 23rd day

* Private sector ‘very upset’ at antiquated process

* Comptroller appears to blame the private sector

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Freeport was yesterday said to be “in a state of emergency” as Customs’ electronic system for clearing imported goods remained offline for the 23rd consecutive day with no word on when it will be restored.

Glennett Fowler, president of the National Import Export Association of The Bahamas (NIEA), told Tribune Business that all businesses she had spoken with yesterday were “very upset” at having to enter a fourth week of clearing cross-border commerce using manual processes.

Describing the present situation as “not feasible”, she added that Freeport’s private sector was also disgruntled about the absence of any formal communication from Customs over when and how the situation will be resolved.

With present import clearance methods the exact opposite of what Freeport requires to be competitive as a 21st century ‘free trade zone’, Ms Fowler said last Thursday’s planned virtual conference between the business community and Customs to discuss the ongoing woes never took place after the latter’s comptroller, Dr Geannine Moss, said she never got the link to join.

That meeting has now been rescheduled to tomorrow with the private sector becoming increasingly desperate to resolve a clearance backlog that is costing it both extra time and money.

“We’re in a state of emergency with this Electronic Customs Automated Services (eCAS) thing,” Ms Fowler said, having returned to Freeport from New Providence on Tuesday evening. “There’s no information coming from Customs at all, and the system is still down.

“Everyone I have spoken to today since I got settled in is very upset. We’re preparing a petition to send around. The system has been down since June 21, and in the meantime we’re all doing manual entries. I can tell you that everybody is upset. I’m not sure they’ll wait on the Association before doing something because we don’t seem to be making any headway.”

Ms Fowler said the National Import Export Association and other businesses were now exploring if Customs’ Electronic Single Window, known as Click2Clear and which has been implemented in all other islands bar Grand Bahama, can now be installed in the latter location but without its controversial “free trade zone” module.

Click2Clear’s Grand Bahama implementation has been pushed back from July 1, 2021, to September this year in response to private sector fears that its introduction as-is would violate both the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, as well as previous Supreme Court rulings and injunctions. However, Customs appears determined to ram the system down Freeport’s throat (see other article on Page 1B).

“We’re trying to see if we can launch the Single Window without the bonded goods side,” Ms Fowler explained. “That’s the best resolution we’re coming to. There’s no formal communication [from Customs] for us to have a leg to stand on now. Anything else would be an assumption.”

She added that last Thursday’s planned meeting with Customs, which would have featured representatives from both the National Import Export Association and Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, did not take place due to the comptroller’s inability to join despite other officers being present. Ms Fowler said Dr Moss had been sent the link on July 5.

The Customs comptroller, in a July 1, 2021, letter almost appeared to blame the agency’s Freeport woes on private sector opposition to implementing Click2Clear by the originally intended deadline. 

The letter, which has been seen by Tribune Business, said it was imperative that the present eCAS system be rapidly retired as it had “gone beyond its life span of operability”. Referring to Click2Clear, Dr Moss wrote: “For your information, Grand Bahama is the last island to become a part of this system which was launched since 2018.

“Be advised that this office nor this Department are novices concerning embracing and/or rectifying issues when detected, either internally or externally, and as such are well poised to steer Grand Bahama in alignment with the rest of The Bahamas.

“Currently, Grand Bahama is the sole island in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas still operating on the old legacy system of Electronic Customs Automated System (eCAS) and Customs Automated System (CAS),” Dr Moss added.

“CAS was rolled out circa 1991 some 30 years ago while eCAS was rolled out in 2012 some nine years ago. These systems have reached the end of the road as evidenced with its failure during the week of June 20, 2021. It is imperative that these legacy systems are retired as they are working sporadically and have gone beyond its life span of operability.”

Several conspiracy theorists have already suggested to Tribune Business that the protracted delay in resolving the eCAS system woes is actually a ploy designed to drive the Freeport and Grand Bahama business sector’s acceptance of an earlier Click2Clear implementation.

While there is no evidence to support that, Dr Moss wrote: “It is therefore of paramount importance that the Click2Clear system be launched in Grand Bahama so that its residents can enjoy the accessibility and seamless operability of the system that the rest of The Bahamas currently enjoys.

“The decision was made to delay the launch of Click2Clear in September 2021 based on feedback from the clearance stakeholders that you espoused. Please note that this delaying of the launch of this system has caused officers to perform their duties manually for the majority of the time as the performance of eCAS and CAS is unstable.

“We ask that you communicate to your membership and request their patience as we navigate summer imports. With assurance and certainty, the Click2Clear system will be launched in its entirety.....”

Dr Moss blamed the eCAS woes on an “electronic malfunction out of the control of this Department, who made every effort to try rectify the matter with immediacy”. She confirmed that directives were given to switch to a manual system so that Freeport’s cross-border commerce could continue to flow freely and imports still reach their destination.

The comptroller added that criticisms of Customs’ failure to communicate what was happening earlier to Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licensees, brokers and importers was “disappointing to say the least” given that officers had informed the private sector verbally as well as posting communications on the agency’s website and social media facilities.

Ms Fowler, though, in a July 7 response, pointed out that Customs’ first social media post on its Grand Bahama woes on June 30 received just “one like”, while the second on July 2 received just “two shares”. She added: “These analytics suggest that many persons could have missed, not seen or do not follow the Bahamas Customs Department on social media.

“We (The NIEA) will begin a campaign to have our membership follow any or all of the Bahamas Customs Department social media pages to ensure this minimises the concern of lack of communication in the future.”

Ms Fowler also disputed Dr Moss’ assertion that there had been no validation of concerns that the delay in clearing shipments, as a result of switching to a manual system, was causing persons to incur extra storage fees. 

The National Import Export Association president wrote: “We have verified that members, business owners and individuals received storage charges for goods not being cleared within the timeframe allotted by a certain ocean freight forwarders/shipping line. In some cases, fees were waived by 50 percent.”