Community Notice: Importing Goods for the Holiday Season

The Cayman Islands Customs & Border Control Service (CBC) would like to remind persons who are importing goods for the holiday season to ensure all supplier invoices or sales invoices are provided to the courier agent before the goods arrive. This would help ensure a timely clearing and release of the goods. Below are some useful tips to follow.

Do

• As soon as you know you are receiving goods, gather the necessary documents and share them with your agent.

• The necessary documents should be your Supplier Invoice or Sale Invoice(s). Provide these documents in PDF format to your agent.

• If additional documentaion is required to collect your package, obtain this prior to the shipment arriving (e.g. approval needed from the Department of Agriculture). If you are not sure if additional information is required ask your agent or the new Customer Suport Centre.

Don’t

• Omit or misrepresent the value of your goods (don’t assume “everyone” will know the value of a given item).

• Hand written invoices are not normally accepted.

• The customer is responsible for providing all necessary and proper documentation, do not rely on the courier agent to do this.

With over 23,000 individual imports recorded for the month of November, the expected trend for the season is that imports will continue to rise as the airport remains under limited departures and persons are not able to leave the island to complete their usual holiday shopping.

With the recent launch of the CBC Customer Support Centre, persons can now call 649-4579 and press 0 for assistance or email CBCOnlineSupport@gov.ky with questions or queries relating to imports.

If this is the first time you are importing goods using a courier or broker agent, you will need to complete and submit an Agent Authorisation form. The form can be found by visiting www.cbc.gov.ky or can be obtained from your courier or broker agent and should be submitted at least 48 hours before your goods arrive. A legible and valid Government identification document will need to be submitted and the form must be dated and signed.

To view the documents needed to clear goods visit www.cbc.gov.ky