Spot checks begin at the Port; Cabinet to expand team

Spot checks of containers at the St. Johns Port have begun by the finance audit team according to Cabinet Spokesperson Maurice Merchant.

Last week, it was announced that the Ministry of Finance along with private individuals would carry out checks of containers after observing a significant reduction in revenue.

“The Cabinet announced last week that it will engage private individuals and the finance audit team to accompany customs officers to randomly inspect containers to ensure that items manifested comprise the contents of these containers and that the correct value are assigned to the imports.

“The Cabinet has further expanded the capacity of this team of individuals to carry out spot checks at the port to include law enforcement officers,” Merchant shared.

A special fund will be established to compensate individuals who will be selected randomly from a register of competent private citizens of good standing to carry out the checks.

“Individuals listed in the register will be selected in a fashion similar to jury selection,” Merchant added.

The Cabinet has also identified a protected space at the Port Authority where the spot checks will be carried out to be observed by a modern security system during unpacking.