Assault on customs corruption
The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce ( JCC ) has assured its support to the new Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker, helping him to clean up an extremely corrupt Customs system.
The JCC wants those involved in corruption to be made to suffer the full extent of the law, with no exceptions. This must include the forfeiture of all assets gained through these illegal activities.
The ineffectiveness of Customs enforcement, the inadequacy of the punishment and the inability to publish names of offenders are only some of the issues that need to be addressed in fixing the "very broken system".
Despite the JCC 's many attempts to provide the Customs Department with information regarding these offences, little or nothing has happened over these past three years”.
Walker, who took up the post of Commissioner of Customs a few weeks ago, has met resistance, particularly from Customs brokers, to his attempts to clean up the Customs system.
JCC strongly feels that the threat of continued corruption of our import system cannot go unaddressed, as it poses a threat to the national treasury, national security and all legitimate businesses.
The JCC says,"This thrust to clean up Customs must not only be seen as a fight to stamp out corruption, but as a first step toward lowering taxes in the near future. A simplified tax system will reduce the incentive that promotes corruption.”