Troubling Experience Today with Bahamas Customs

[BandB]

Originally Posted by dohenyboy

Thank you for the suggestion on the use of a correspondence bank. I have friends in several of the banks here at the executive level and there is no way around the rule unless I get Central Bank approval.

I would call the banking department of the Central Bank.

[Amapola]

Please let us know how your experience turns out.

[jkangas]

Wow, I had a $3800.00 rudder shipped to the Bahamas last July and had no troubles with customs charges. I'm not sure if I'm lucky or just that good :-).

[BandB]

Originally Posted by jkangas

Wow, I had a $3800.00 rudder shipped to the Bahamas last July and had no troubles with customs charges. I'm not sure if I'm lucky or just that good :-).

Note a key word, "Shipped." I've found, not just for Jamaica but many countries, that shipping items in is much less problematic than carrying them in.

[twistedtree]

I had a water maker part shipped in a couple of months ago with no trouble other than sitting in Freeport for a week.

Re a bank refund, can you have the money deposited into someone else's account? Or have they plugged that loop hole?

[Tingum]

As a non citizen you can open a US dollar account at any bank. The paperwork is a pain, thanks to OUR government, but it can be done in one day. I know for sure, I have one.

[dohenyboy]

Sure you can open an account. But you cannot receive any payment from the government in that account

[dohenyboy]

Finally came to a conclusion.
After persistently asking for relief and schmoozing the staff for a week, I happened to be at the Customs House when the Comptroller of Customs had 5 free minutes. Of course he agreed that my boat parts were duty free. He made some phone calls, and figured out an exception to the rules and promised to mail my refund check to my US address.
Nevertheless, when I came through Nassau airport on the weekend, they were still disregarding cruising permits. So caution is in order.

[Paul Annapolis]

With all the millions of dollars that cruising sailors pay to the Bahamian government as well as spread around to Bahamian businesses and service providers, especially in places such as Georgetown, one has to ask "Where does it all go?" How is any of it returned to tourism or boating services? My observation is well, it goes to bureaucrats in Nassau. Think about as one example--how could a few thousand of those dollars improve the dinghy dock, the water taxi?-an information booth?-- and thus the tourism experience in Georgetown? It could revolutionize the experience. Instead we have to hear about being blackmailed for a bit of rope! And where will that duty payment go? Maybe an appeal to the ministry of tourism would make sense. The cruising contribution to the Bahamanian economy is enormous but it does not appear to come to much widespread good anywhere except in bureaucratic coffers. That's my conjecture of course but probably resorting to an underground or under the radar economy would make more sense and ultimately return more dollars to the Bahamian people who understand the impact of sailing tourism. And then the government will will react in one of two ways--one constructive and the other destructive!

[impi]

We had a similar issue in the Bahamas at George Town. I simply went to the main office in town and found a really nice fella there who exempted me entirely. Be nice, be humble and what we found is that it was pretty much up to the individual behind the counter to make the call!

[AnchorageGuy]

Just an FYI, Bahamas Customs workers will vote Friday on whether to strike for better working benefits. Stay tuned. Chuck

[dohenyboy]

Great.
The Customs people are under pressure to bring in money. There is widespread evasion by the locals

[SKG56]

To make sure I understand what you guy's are talking about, this duty is being charged when you bring these things in, flying in, not shipping, also, what if you have replacements parts, backup, extras, on the boat when you clear in, any duty there.

[FSMike]

If it's already on the boat you don't have to worry about it.

[dohenyboy]

As a follow up, I was chatting with someone in the marine service industry in Nassau and he confirmed that the airport customs officers were only permitting the import of propulsion parts duty free at the airport.