By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Customs yesterday said its electronic system for clearing goods on Grand Bahama is “beyond repair”, warning that the island’s cross-border commerce will return to manual process until September.

The agency, in response to a series of Tribune Business articles, confirmed in a statement that its legacy Electronic Customs Automated System (eCAS) is now “inoperable” which has made the switch to its Electronic Single Window (ESW) or Click2Clear system with effect from September 1 “even more critical”.

“The Customs Department wishes to offer sincerest apologies to all stakeholders that have been significantly inconvenienced by the recent failure of eCAS. The system began experiencing intermittent issues in February 2021, but a critical failure in June rendered the system inoperable,” Customs said.

“Recent assessments determined that the legacy system is beyond repair and will therefore be phased out and replaced by the electronic single window, Click2Clear platform. Currently, the entry checking and releasing unit systems are being handled manually, and the department has officers working around the clock to ensure accurate inputs are maintained and processed.”

This effectively means that Grand Bahama and Freeport, the latter the country’s only designated free trade zone, will be forced back to manual processes for clearing imports for another six to seven weeks or one-and-a-half months. This has already slowed the flow of cross-border commerce, and is costing the private sector both extra time and money.

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.

Customs, though, made no direct mention of these concerns in its statement other than to say it would continue to consult with Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) licencees and other stakeholders, plus offer training on the Click2Clear system.

The Comptroller of Customs, Dr Geannine R. Moss, and her team will be in Grand Bahama next week to meet with the stakeholders,” the agency promised. The feedback received over the past weeks and months as preparation has begun for the transition to Click2Clear in Grand Bahama has resulted in changes being made to ensure ease of use for all stakeholders.

“The next month-and-a-half will prove to be critical not only to the department but to all stakeholders on the island of Grand Bahama in preparation for the full transition on September 1. The facilitation of legitimate trade is a key pillar of the Bahamas Customs Department. This transition reaffirms that commitment in the rendering of service to all stakeholders, particularly those in Grand Bahama.”

Some observers will likely view the declaration that eCAS is “inoperable” as affirming Customs’ desire to ram Click2Clear down Freeport’s throat while also overcoming all opposition to its implementation, given that the city will otherwise be stuck with manual processing.

Dr Moss, in a July 1, 2021, letter seen by this newspaper almost appeared to blame Customs’ Freeport woes on private sector opposition to implementing Click2Clear by the originally intended deadline.

The letter to Glennett Fowler, president of the National Import Export Association of The Bahamas (NIEA), 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.”

Dr Moss further 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.....”