BVI continues to improve the management and monitoring of the import and export of goods, as over 30 officers from Her Majesty’s Customs received training on the Harmonised Classification Coding System.

The two-session Tariff Classification training was held between November 14 and 25, and was facilitated by Consultant and Customs Tariff Specialist from the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), Mr. Jude Charley.

Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Wade Smith said, “This training served as a refresher for senior officers and an introductory for junior Customs officers, thus allowing for all officers to keep up on the cutting edge of HS classification which is important for Government.”

Mr. Smith explained that the harmonised system (HS) is a universal economic language and code for goods, and an indispensable tool for international trade.

He thanked CARTAC for its continued technical support and assistance in providing training and announced that the new HS 2017 will be introduced in January.

Facilitator, Mr. Jude Charley said that the training is an important one as it assists in developing accurate trade statistics in the classification of goods.

“Tariff classification is a problematic area for many institutions and can be quite complex. The collection of trade statistics allows the executive branch to make policy decisions on imports and/or exports. Incorrect classification results in flawed government policy,” Mr. Charley said.

Mr. Charley also said that once officers apply the principles from the training, they will no longer have a need for memorising HS codes as they have been doing over the years.

He said, “The principles learned in the training, when used properly, will allow the officers to determine the classification of any product presented to them. The key to this is acquiring all available information on the product and seeking other view points from colleagues.”

Mr. Jude Charley has more than twenty-six years of experience as a Customs Officer in Saint Lucia. He is a trained trainer, Customs Consultant and Customs Tariff Specialist for CARTAC.

Officers from Turks and Caicos, Montserrat and Anguilla also participated in the training.

The implementation of both the Harmonised Classification Coding System and the Customs Automated Processing System is in line with Her Majesty’s Customs’ mandate, in addition to the Government of the Virgin Islands’ commitment to managing and monitoring the import and export of goods.

Her Majesty’s Customs Department is tasked with facilitating legitimate trade and enforcing import and export regulations.

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Photo Captions

1. Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Wade Smith; CARTAC Facilitator, Mr. Jude Charley; Senior and Junior Customs Officers; along with Overseas colleagues from Turks and Caicos, Monsterrat and Anguilla pictured during the closing ceremony of the Harmonised Classification Training (Photo credit: Her Majesty’s Customs)
2. Senior and Junior Customs Officers pictured along with Overseas colleagues from Turks and Caicos, Monsterrat and Anguilla during the training (Photo credit: GIS/Ronnielle Frazer)
3. Customs Consultant and Customs Tariff Specialist for CARTAC, Mr. Jude Charley pictured mid-speech during the training (Photo credit: GIS/Ronnielle Frazer)
4. Customs Officers listening attentively to facilitator during Harmonised Classification Training (Photo credit: GIS/Ronnielle Frazer)