Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 29, 2020 (SKNIS): St. Kitts-Nevis Customs and Excise Department collected a record 191 million dollars in revenue to help fund public infrastructure and services, said Jervin Nisbett, Customs Senior 4, Courier Operations Manager, during his appearance on “Working for You” on January 29, 2020.
“St. Kitts is experiencing very large growth right now. In 2018, the Customs collected $185 million and in 2019, we collected approximately $191 million. Now that was a three percent growth between 2018 and 2019,” said Mr. Nisbett. “A lot of that money goes into a lot of the infrastructure that we see around us that the government is responsible for – simple things that we take for granted like roads and healthcare – those are the things that this money goes into.”
Elmar Martines, Assistant Comptroller of Customs for Investigations expounded further on the revenue collection process.
“The Customs Department is successful and efficient in regard to the collection of the countries revenue based on those figures mentioned by officer Nisbett,” he said, while referring to the theme for International Customs Day 2020, which was celebrated on January 26: ‘Customs Fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet.’
“This ties in with the theme because the revenue generated will be recycled into the development of the country. I use the word recycled because the development of the country creates opportunities for new businesses to come on stream which will result in the collection of more revenue by the Customs Department,” said Mr. Martines.
He added that “a major factor that contributes to customs’ successful and effective revenue collection is the enforcement of the institution’s laws at the borders where importers” bring in their goods. He commended the officers for “ensuring that the correct duties and taxes are collected.”
