Dear Editor,
A restraining order was handed down by Supreme Court Justice Lorna Shelley Williams on March 28 to stay the planned April 2 implementation of the controversial Contactless Customs Clearance Policy by the Jamaica Customs Agency further to a review hearing scheduled for April 25.
The Contactless Customs Clearance Policy has been a vexing issue for the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (CBFFAJ), which took the matter to court after patiently advocating for the repeal of the policy since 2021 when it was first introduced by Jamaica Customs.
The brokers maintain that the ‘Contactless Clearance’ threatens to make their role and functions irrelevant by conducting physical/intrusive inspections of containers of goods without them or the importers they represent being present.
The president of the CBFFAJ, Clive Coke, maintains that the move by Jamaica Customs is a clear breach of the Customs Act, World Customs Organisation (WCO) Procedures and Guidelines, and the Fair Competition Act.
“Our cause is just, and our arguments against ‘Contactless Clearance’ are sound, and we have been patient advocates on this matter,” said Coke. “Jamaica’s Customs Brokers remain highly supportive of the imperative of securing our borders from illegal imports, but we maintain that there is need for reasonableness and for the striking of a balance by either eliminating or revamping this Contactless Clearance Policy. This will ensure that the interests of the businesses that we have built reliable relationships with over many years, are well represented,” added Coke.
The Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica is represented by King’s Counsel, M. Georgia Gibson Henlin, and Stephanie A. Williams, instructed by Henlin Gibson Henlin, Attorneys-at-Law.
Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association