The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

FOR the next 30 days, bottled water, clothing, food for personal consumption and personal hygiene products will be duty and value added tax-free for persons and businesses importing these items as donations to registered charities.

This is according to Athena Marche, acting deputy financial secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

Medicine and medical supplies, building materials, tents, cots, bedding materials, mosquito netting, electrical and plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture, furnishings and appliances, and electrical generators will be duty-free and VAT-free under the same circumstances for 90 days.

Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson said the government had made this decision in order to allow "all and sundry" to help Bahamians who are in need.

The government is also waiving a number of fees for non-commercial flights bringing in relief goods in Grand Bahama and Abaco for the next three months.

These include departure tax, customs processing fees and environmental levy fees.

If there is a need for items that are not on the approved list, Ms Marche said application could be made to the ministry for review and to import the goods.

Ms Marche also clarified misinformation about government-approved charities.

"There is a list of approved charities/non-profits on the Department of Inland Revenue's website, which has been circulated via social media. This is only a list of Bahamian non-profits that are VAT registered. It is not a comprehensive list of registered charities," she explained.

"A comprehensive register of charities is maintained by the Registrar General.

"NEMA also has a list of charities that are engaged in disaster relief activities. If there are established charities that are not on a registered list for some reason, NEMA hosts a daily NGO briefing. Kindly contact NEMA Captain Russell 376-6362 if you wish your NGO to build a relationship with NEMA.

"The exigency order is not exclusive to charities. All individuals and businesses can apply to import tax-free goods under the exigency order. However, all goods imported under the exigency order must be used for charitable purposes by registered charities."

Individuals and businesses are eligible to import tax-free goods under the exigency order under the following three conditions. The imported goods fall under the approved list of items, the final destination of the imported goods is an approved island and imported goods will be used for charitable purposes to support restoration activities directly related to Hurricane Dorian or by individuals who have directly suffered hardship or loss as a result of this storm.

Customs officials also said yesterday that they were aiming to make the import process easier.

The process involved completing the exigency order form for approved goods. It can be downloaded at customs, National Emergency Management Agency or Ministry of Finance websites or copies can be collected from the Customs Department.

A C-18 form must be completed for unaccompanied goods. These are goods arriving on a private aircraft or charter plane.

The C-17 form is for accompanied goods. These are for people travelling through baggage claim at the airport or on private vessel and pleasure craft.

The C-13 air cargo or sea cargo must be filled out for goods arriving through a shipping company, freight forwarder, courier, including DHL, Zipx, Betty K and others.

Customs will be responsible for reviewing and approving documents at the port of entry.