Authorities to investigate claims of excessive import duties after small business outcry

Barbadian small business owners called for urgent reform of customs charges after alleging that inconsistent and excessive import duties are stifling their growth, prompting the Customs and Excise Department to announce a formal investigation.

Comptroller of Customs Owen Holder revealed on Friday that he stands ready to meet with the Small Business Association of Barbados (SBA) or the entrepreneurs concerned to get to the bottom of the matter, with the aim of resolving it.

At a recent Manufacturing and Services Trade Fair and Expo, held at the Weymouth Ground, small business leaders expressed frustration that they have been paying customs duties nearly ten times the cost of their imported items in some instances.

“I paid over $800 in duties for $84 worth of goods,” businesswoman Hyacinth Bascombe told attendees at the expo.

In response, Holder told Barbados TODAY. “It depends on what happened there. In a case like that, you have to put the freight of the items, attach to the value of the goods and that would give you the customs value on which the duties are paid. So, you don’t only pay duties on the value of goods, you pay duties on the freight and the value. So, you have to get more details.”

Bascombe, owner of Eluvanaa Luxury Skincare, said she needed the ingredients for her products and bought them for US$84, but when they arrived in the country, the cost had ballooned.

The levy was making it harder for small businesses in Barbados to survive, she said, as she and others called for urgent reform of customs charges and import duties.

The entrepreneur also claimed that some customs officers were charging more than others. “It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place,” she added.

But the comptroller contended that there had to be more to this story than what was said and he needed to know.

Holder said: “The best thing for something like that to be dealt with is for that person to come to me. They can come to me. I will hear the information. I will guide them and then I will guide the officers as well… because, if there is an error on the officers’ part, we will have to deal with that. But you just can’t say something costs $85. What is it we can get for $85 that would end up costing $800? Something is wrong there.

“When you hear those types of stories, there is always another side to them. To get clarity, you have to get both sides. So, somebody is wrong; but I am sure the person who goes to the press would not admit they are wrong. So, I deal with these matters daily. I had an issue this morning, where I heard a person’s complaint, and the officer was wrong. I went to the officer myself and told them that they were wrong.”

He explained that he was able to take such action because the complainant came to him so he could hear their side and also the customs officer’s side.

Holder said the officer admitted he “might have erred there because we are all human beings too. And that was resolved. So, I would suggest the person call me and let’s [deal with this]. I am easily found”.

The comptroller said he was also prepared to hold talks with the SBA to thrash out the issues of the business owners.

“The Small Business Association can call me,” he suggested. “We can have a meeting on this. I think, in most cases, persons are not aware of how duties are applied; and they have an expectation, but that expectation might not be accurate. That is normally the case.”

Holder argued that the association should always reach out to customs asking for sensitisation sessions for its membership, so they can understand the rudiments of duties and the paying of duties.

“A lot of small business operators do not check or try to ascertain the duty component from the customs side; and then, when they are asked to pay duties they are often surprised at it. But I would say that the department stands ready to provide information in that regard. Maybe, we can have… they can ask that we have a co-seminar,” Holder declared.

He pointed out that his department conducts such seminars often with the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“We have seminars with the BCCI to enlighten people, and we can do that with any governing body that seeks that request,” said Holder.

Entrepreneur Bascombe had said there needs to be a way for the government to assist them.

While acknowledging that the SBA and the Trust Fund were doing their part, Bascombe suggested that the government still needed to represent the entrepreneurs and check in.

Bascombe was one of several business owners at the expo who raised concerns about high import costs, inconsistent customs charges and ongoing logistics issues—all of which they say are choking their growth.

The entrepreneurs said that, in trying to scale their operations, real support should address systemic issues. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb