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Contact:
John Emmanuel
Monday, November 03, 2003 - Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Honourable Phillip J. Pierre, has been shedding light on a Compulsory Standards
and Compliance Programme instituted by the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS).
Minister Pierre, who also holds the portfolio for Investment and Tourism, says
following much consultation with the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce Industry and
Agriculture, it was agreed that the programme would get off the ground from
January 1st of this year. He says under the programme, importers have been
paying a flat user fee per container or entry, and not a tax as has been alluded
to in certain quarters.
“On Customs entries below a CIF value of $5000, the fee will be $25 per customs
entry. For entries above $5000, it will be $50 per entry. That fee is to cover
the cost of the Compulsory Standards Compliance Programme,” said Minister
Pierre. The minister noted that “a programme like that is important for St.
Lucia, in that the Bureau ensures that the goods consumed by St. Lucians are not
substandard and that they meet the required international standards. That really
is the situation and it’s unfair to imply that it’s another tax when it is
actually a user fee for a Compulsory Standards Compliance Programme.”
The Compulsory Standards Compliance Programme forms part of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) benchmark practices for international trade. Other regional
states which have instituted the programme thus far include Barbados, Jamaica,
Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada. The programme is reported to have reaped great
rewards for both St. Lucian businessmen and consumers in general.
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