Local Christmas travellers to get $1000 duty free allowance

(CNS): Cayman residents travelling this Christmas will enjoy double the usual duty free allowance on their shopping after Cabinet approved an Order under the Customs Tariff regulations, last week, to allow the temporary increase of the duty-free allowance for people returning home by air for the full holiday season. The temporary increase is valid until 6 January but people who can’t afford to travel over Christmas and New Year won’t be given any discount on goods they ship in for the holidays.

From 1 December until 6 January Cayman residents returning from a visit overseas will be allowed to bring in, duty-free, dutiable personal and household goods up to a value of CI$1,000.

“We extend our gratitude to our Premier for supporting this initiative, which aligns with the Government’s overarching goal of enhancing the quality of life for Caymanians,” said the Border Control minister Dwayne Seymour who added that this was to help those struggling with duty costs. “By approving a temporary increase in duty allowances, this measure will help ease the financial burden for individuals and families planning holiday travel, especially those who might struggle to cover additional duty costs.”

Yet the minister had nothing to offer families who are not as fortunate as those wealthy enough to travel at Christmas in the first place by cutting the duty on shipping or any discount on the imports they may want to bring in for gifts.

Dutiable items with a value exceeding this temporary $1000 allowance must be declared on the Customs & Border Control (CBC) form and presented to a CBC Officer upon arrival in the Cayman Islands  If a CBC officer suspects that a passenger has either failed to declare items that should be declared, has made a false declaration or is otherwise engaged in the smuggling of contraband, the passenger will be subject to questioning and search by the officer.

Returning residents are advised that the duty-free allowance does not apply to merchandise purchased for resale in their business. Those items must be properly declared and the applicable duty paid.

Government has not said how much it anticipates it will forego in revenue with the temporary increase in allowance.