NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (December 22, 2021) — The Customs and Excise Department is extending its opening hours by one hour from Wednesday, 22 December 2021.
Mr. Roger Fyfield, Assistant Comptroller at St. Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Department, made the disclosure citing that the extended hours are to facilitate the public with clearing goods and packages during the Christmas Season.
“We will be extending our opening hours by one hour. Hence, the new opening hours would now be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until further notice,” he told the Department of Information on December 21, 2021.
The senior Customs officer used the opportunity to remind persons clearing goods or packages, that the process is now less complicated for those unable to clear their goods in person since a key document used in the process is accessible online.
“The authorisation form is a document that could be found on our website www.skncustoms.com. It’s basically a document that you can complete if you get a package and you are unable to clear it for some reason.
“The form is very simple. You would follow it and complete it, and you would be giving another person permission to clear your package on your behalf,” he said.
According to Mr. Fyfield, persons utilising the online service would have to provide a valid government-issued picture ID.
“It could be a photocopy. Once we identify who you are on the ID, that would suffice, and the person who you are asking to clear on your behalf, of course, they too would have to bring a picture ID of themselves so we could know who that person is…
“So if you are tied up or maybe over in St. Kitts or somewhere and you can’t make it to any of our stations to clear your cargo or your package…then you could complete the authorisation form and allow someone to collect it on your behalf,” he said.
The authorisation form is applicable at all stations – The Courier in Charlestown, the Long Point Port, the Nevis Post Office in Charlestown, Parcel Post and the Vance W. Amory International Airport in Newcastle.