Customs opens red-green channels at airport
Minister Marco Archer and Deputy Collector Customs Marlon Bodden inspect the new signage in the Customs Arrival Hall at Owen Roberts International Airport
(CNS): The Customs Department has begun operating a new clearance system in the arrival hall at Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA). Collector of Customs Charles Clifford said the simplified process, recommended by the World Customs Organisation and commonly known as the ‘red/green system’, facilitates the flow of arriving passengers and their baggage without reducing the effectiveness of customs control. But Clifford stressed the importance of passengers being truthful and accurate on their declaration forms and warned that officers will make spot checks to ensure they are.
“Entering the green channel will be considered to be a declaration by the traveller that that person has nothing to declare,” Clifford stated in a release from the customs department Friday announcing the new system, which has been in operation for around two weeks.
“Any undeclared goods found during checks will result in either penalties being imposed or prosecution, which could lead to imprisonment for failure to make a truthful declaration”.
Undeclared goods or cash are also subject to seizure by customs where people have been dishonest, the collector warned.
Some 700 passengers arrive at ORIA on a normal weekday, with around 60-80 having goods to declare. But the numbers jump to 1,600 a day on the weekends and even more during the holidays. Officials said that the new red-green channels will allow travellers to choose which distinctively marked channel they go through.
The green channel, which is marked “nothing to declare”, is for people with no more than their duty-free allowances, no prohibited or restricted goods and no more that CI$15,000, or equivalent, in cash.
The red channel is for goods that exceed duty-free allowance, are for business use, goods for other people, prohibited or restricted items or more that CI$15,000 in cash.
Arriving passengers who opt for the green channel when they have goods to declare will find themselves on the wrong side of the law if they are caught, and an officer will be assigned to the green channel to vet suspicious looking baggage.
Another new system designed to speed things up is a pre-pay clearance process for travellers with goods to declare. They may now pre-pay customs duties before making their formal declaration to an officer at the red channel. Once this is done, a customs officer will either allow people who have pre-paid to exit without inspection, or refer them for x-ray screening or a physical inspection to ensure they have made a truthful declaration.
Signage outlining the descriptions and quantities of goods travellers may have with them now appears throughout the arrival hall and additional information is provided via audio message.
Acting Deputy Collector of Customs Jeff Jackson said passengers should avoid complications by making truthful declarations, paying careful attention to the signs and having their receipts readily available if there are any questions or queries by customs officers. Officers will make spot checks, he said.
Customs also encourages passengers, if they are unsure or have any questions or queries, to speak with the officer available for this purpose in the Customs Hall.
In future, the department also plans to computerize the clearance process in order to expedite the processing of passengers.
Finance Minister Marco Archer, who spoke this week about his goal to improve revenue collection, welcomed the new system at the airport.
“Response so far has been extremely positive and accordingly the next step will be to fully implement the process with additional resources in the new Customs Hall when that is completed,” he said.
He added that the new systems would be reviewed regularly with an eye to improvement. There are no plans at present to extend the system to Cayman Brac.
Category: Local News
I don’t understand the new process as it has always been this way but just not color coded but to me having arrived on the weekend it seems to be in fact much worse. So what are we commending Customs and Clifford for?
This color channel businesses is not helping. show me less time in the line and then you have accomplished something. A person told me today she waited 2hrs last night to clear customs! and had truthfully nothing to declare as she was on a medical trip.
What makes more sense is to have two lines for tourists, we have to move them out fast. One line for no duty locals, and three lines for locals claiming. That way if you want out fast as a local, you claim. Win win.
oh sh*t, I am red green colour blind…
Just follow the family of politicians laden with goods from Miami. That way you will be certain of going through the Nothing To Declare aisle.
2000 allowance to catch up with inflation. And post one of the wandering guards at the gate until you fix your not-working-on-purpose-system so you can skim cash on exiting from the parking lot.
“Clifford stressed the importance of passengers being truthful and accurate on their declaration forms”. Chuckie needs to do some open mic stand up with material like that.
Some seem to have the privilege of an infinite allowance judging by the number of bags their luggage porter rolls through the green line.
Guess my surname is not one of the chosen son’s of the soil.
Nudge nudge, wink wink, smuggle no more…
Here is my experience:
We stood in line for ages trying to declare some stuff. The custom officers seem to struggle with doing/checking some calculations and conversions. The majority of people were in the “nothing to declare” line and they got through in the blink of an eye – no spot checks!
We then stood in line again for ages in order to pay the duty. By the time we were finished, a second plane (which arrived after us) had cleared all the ones who stood in the “nothing to declare” line.
So why are those who are being honest and declaring the amount brought in in excess of allowance punished with long waits, and why is the majority of customs staff assigned to the “nothing to declare lines”?
Have a customs line for visitors and two separate lines for residents. I don’t mind the long wait if all residents have to go through the same process, but it is wrong for those being honest to be punished, and dozens of residents are going through the “nothing to declare” line, pushing god knows how much luggage and nobody is taking a closer look. That’s when I think I am just being a fool for being honest.
I totally agree with you, 110%. I always claim what I really purchased, and I am every time penalizing for being honest. Our duty limit is so out of line with both reality and inflation as to be laughable.
Something tells me the floor will soon wear out in the Green Channel from all the foot traffic while all you will hear in the Red Channel are crickets (and maybe some too honest visitors who will get dinged duty on a couple of gifts they bring for their kids’ hosts)
It has been decades since the implementation of the current duty free allowance of $350. If this was raised to something more realistic like $1000 it would make more sense. Those people who are not declaring the $50 or so over are doing so because they don’t want to stand in the long, slow lines and to be intimated by poorly trained and obnoxious customs agents who want to exercise their power..It is bad enough to have to put up with the slow and rude immigration officers but to have to get a double whammy of these two departments together when you arrive at 10pm flight at night is something everyone dreads…
Completely agree, I’m originally from Canada and they have a stepped system depending on the length of time you’ve been away. First 24 hours $0.00, 24-48 hours $200 and Over 48 Hours $800. Canada reviews this and adjust it accordingly. When was the last time Cayman reviewed this and increased it. I certainly can’t remember it happening.
Our family of four has kyd$1400 in duty free allowance. In all our years of flying we’ve never come close to maxing that out.
Just to let you know, children have a zero duty allowance. So if you are a family of four with two minors your allowance is $700 KYD. And I guess you shop at garage sales.
Not the last time we flew back as a 4 pax family for us too…we got 4 x allowance. Show me where it says kids get zero..
You can find the info at http://www.customs.gov.ky. Only persons over 18 years old are eligible for a duty allowance.
Annie, you seem skeptical. I believe that is what the poster declared — him or her and a lot of other people, especially those with two or three bulging suitcases per person after a one week trip.
Huh?
Actually Ive found it for you, I suspect you are confused with the booze and cigs allowance…
Duty Free Allowances
All visitors may bring with them personal wearing apparel, articles of personal adornment and other personal effects which, to the satisfaction of Customs, are reasonable for the period of the intended visit.
All passengers over the age of 18 years may also bring with them the following items
Up to 1 liter of Potable Spirits
Or 4 liters of wine
Or 1 case of Beer (not exceeding 8 liters)
Up to 200 Cigarettes
Or 250 grammes of Tobacco
Cayman residents returning from an overseas visit may bring with them household and personal items up to the value of CI $350.00 (US $417).
Hope the custom officers are taught good customer service skills as well.
It will be interesting to see if the drivers who run stop signs and red lights try the same thing in the Custom’s Hall…
They should open a”friends and family of immigration officers”channel from the amount of bags ppl walking right through with without question last week lol
It was a long time coming but will be welcomed by all. I also want to take this opportunity of congratulatiing both customs and immigration for the way they have trained their airport personnel. It is such a pleasure to return home knowing I will be welcomed back with a friendly comment and smile, it makes such a difference when travelling. This is such a contrast to Miami where rudeness and arrogance is the norm.
Is this sarcasm?!?
I just checked several currency valuation sites to compare what $350 (US, and as we are a pegged currency it should translate) in 1986 would be worth today. The results vary from a low of $659 to a high of $1349. So at the very, very least we should increase our allowance to $649. If looking for any fairness, it should be $1000. Just saying.
This is great to the extent that it is not only dependent on travelers being truthful but the custom officers being honest as well.
The Collector of Customs would like to believe that all the people he has in his organization have integrity but I have witnessed Custom officers allowing who I presume are family/friends through, declaring nothing, paying no duty yet it is one or two people with 4-6 pieces of luggage? They don’t even ask them for receipts or do spot checks.
I have heard the stories from people who boast of bringing back laptops, phones, clothes, jewelry, electronics etcetera and simply didn’t declare them and walked right through because their “cousin/auntie/friend was working when their flight arrived”
This island is very small and I have learned very quickly that it is who you know and who knows you.
My moral compass and conscience will always make me render to “Ceasar what is due to Ceasar”, can’t say the same for a lot of the natives on this Christian island.
Oh, it makes me so annoyed when I see someone in the ‘Nothing to Declare’ line sail through customs with out paying a dime when they are obviously over the duty limit.
Hmm, you have a big screen TV, a sofa, a weed-wacker, a pallet of tile, a live moose, and a two dozen buldging bags. Okay I am sure that is under $350, if you know the right person.
The green line idea is great, move those tourists through, and get them onto enjoying our Caymankind. But…if the system does not change for those claiming duty it will still be a cluster f@ck. And a reason for locals to under declare.
Can anyone advise me of the last time the duty allowance was raised? I never remember it being less, and I am pretty damn old, so it has been at the same $350 for at least twenty or thirty years. Make the allowance reasonable, and streamline the process for paying for items in excess of said. Right now just the process of paying itself deters compliance.
Cayman…world leaders or the land time forgot…
How about revamping the entire charging of customs. E.g. Why are sunglasses zero on duty? Yet majority of everything else is 22%
The expensive stuff sold downtown is duty free–gold, silver, china, crystal, etc.
I would guess because they are glasses, the are in some way a medical product. Or just someone in charge had a business selling glasses.
Yes Bodden while you are at it please remove the red line which a certain PPM minister established that exempts certain Gov’t officials and family from going through Customs with 14 very large bags of Nothing declare goods. Which i have witnessed many times. I won’t hold my breath though, boy the ppm got a whole pile of lackeys eh!
The member likes that line too – with his 4 new truck tires from Tampa and no tire tax or extra baggage fees on CAL…in front of everyone. They’re all milking it.
I thought this had been in place for a while? Either way the whole system is very slow, with the amount of spot checks they do (which i understand) I think they need to easily double the amount of counters and officers on duty.
Can they flip the sides for the red/green paths?
If you go in the red channel and then go across to pay your duty, you have to cross traffic with the green channel people. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the red channel right next to the Customs cashier?
I went through last week and it’s a bit of a mish mash with red and green traffic crossing each other with lots of suitcases.
And um….didn’t we already have this about two years ago?
Thanks to you and your Staff Mr. Clifford!
Red / green channels?? Chuckie best get the majority of his Airport staff enrolled in the customer service classes offered by the NWDA. They have no manners and are abusing the authority that has been bestowed on them. Btw I have one question, do officers have to right to dig in handbags and wallets? Just need to know so I don’t find myself in the lovely popo lockup by Fairbanks. Lol
Can u provide some more info on the pre-pay clearance process, exactly how does it work?
Now if only the Collector of Customs could apply himself to speeding up the process of clearing unaccompanied shipments at the Customs HQ. I spent two and a half hours in the process for a small duty-free item that came in by air. And that was probably conservative because I timed my visit to coincide with the start of the work day ahead of the rush.
On that occasion, I noticed most of the windows were not staffed. Among those that were one officer took her position at 9 (when the doors open at 8:30) while at another window another officer was busy doing some office work and apparently unavailable to serve the waiting public. (I wondered why she had chosen to sit at the window rather than at a back of house desk.)
Aside from those factors that limited availability of manpower, when I was finally served it just seemed an unnecessarily long process for a small duty free shipment.
this sounds a lot like the current system……..
At last Customs have a boss that is learned and makes the best decisions based on tried and proven methods. I am proud of the Clifford.
Can the Collector of Customs visit the Customs Collection HQ? Just make some random visits and see what happens there?
So Allar exactly how are you related?.
Finally!
Why does Cayman have such a high cash allowance? It looks to be 1.5-3x International norms? Is there any honest reason why anyone would need to carry that kind of cash to Cayman in 2016?!?
Customs needs to learn the semantic difference between “Goods to Declare” and “Exceeding Duty Free Allowances”. Families and individuals should be able to go in the green lane if they have made a full and honest declaration and are below their duty free limit. Those that are honest enough to pay their prescribed duty in the red lane should not draw any more extra scrutiny or revulsion than those claiming no excess in the green lane. Both should be just as welcome to Cayman!
This is another failed PR effort to rationalize a change that was unnecessary…how much will this extraordinary new first impression annoyance cost us?!? We need smarter people managing our arrival experiences, both in port and at our airport. Four or five flights arrive and there are no taxis and folks are shoehorned in 3 or 4 families at a time and just as many stops. Ask around, our arrivals experience is one of the worst in the Caribbean!
I am unfamiliar with the cash allowance. Does it exceed 10k? If not then it is inline with other jurisdictions.
Now that’s a positive news story. Fantastic achievement and the real benefits of appointing superstar Caymanians to the top jobs.
I am glad Clifford is doing his job — but doing one’s job does not a superstar make. So let us not go into a song and a dance about introducing some rules in place in other territories.
Let us see some real innovation — and some real diligence in improving service and getting staff to do their jobs: Like the earth shattering making sure the windows at the dreaded Customs clearance HQ are staffed, that people come to work when they are paid to — like when the doors open to the public at 8:30 — and that they work efficiently.
Do you know what I was told about when you should arrive at the Customas HQ to get through with dispatch? Those who have learned the ropes advise arriving within an hour of closing. The desk clerks want to get out at closing time and, like magic, efficiency goes up exponentially.
Otherwise, you should be prepared to give up at least — at the very least — a half a day.