Hurricane Matthew ploughed into The Bahamas on October 5, 2016 - almost a year to the day after Hurricane Joaquin slammed into the Southern Bahamas. One week later, the government has yet to publish an exigency order Guardian Business understands was signed by Cabinet on Tuesday. This as the insurance industry is suggesting insurable losses will top $400 million.

With significant parts of New Providence, Grand Bahama and North Andros without power, with water being rationed - whatever the wording - and amid serious concerns about food shortages in both Grand Bahama and North Andros, the government has yet to promulgate the order, which will bring order and clarity to the importation of goods and materials neede.

The order
Nonetheless, The Nassau Guardian has obtained an unsigned copy of the order. The order provides - according to Section 9817 of the Tariff Code - for duty free importation of "goods intended to provide relief in response to a declaration of exigency by the minister".

The unsigned order is backdated to October 7, 2016 and runs until April 4, 2017. The Minister of Finance may extend the time. The islands covered include New Providence, Grand Bahama, Berry Islands, North and Central Andros.

The goods covered by the order include building materials, electrical fixtures and materials, plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture, furnishings and appliances, generators and - with certain caveats - bottled water and motor vehicles.

Bottled water is only permitted to be imported for a period of 60 days beginning on October 7.

With regard to motor vehicles, "the exemption will be based on the market value of the vehicle destroyed on the date of the hurricane. In the event that the minimum value is less than $5,000 on the date of the hurricane, a value of $5,000 would be used. The destroyed vehicle must be turned over to the authority of the Customs Department in all instances".

And for a period of three months beginning on October 7, departure tax is waived for non-commercial flights bringing relief goods and customs processing fees are waived for imports into the islands in Schedule C, which are the same islands: New Providence, Grand Bahama, Berry Islands, North and Central Andros.

Customs duty and VAT (value-added tax) exemption will be granted to registered charitable organizations and individuals whose losses from Hurricane Matthew have been verified by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). All other authorized donations will be deemed "a gift to the government" and will be received and distributed by NEMA.

Precedent
In the case of Joaquin, Acklins, Crooked Island and Long Cay were declared "sufferance port areas" for a period of three months commencing October 3. A sufferance port is a private wharf where dutiable goods may be kept until the duty is paid. This allowed dutiable goods to be shipped and stored on those islands for three months.
No such measure is included in the draft order obtained by Guardian Business.

Questions
What has not yet been made clear is the utility and success of the exigency measures taken with respect to recovery from Joaquin.

And Guardian Business has learned that some international agencies may be seeking information from the authorities on the number of persons displaced or affected by the storm, as well as any quantification of the level of need required by island, or percentage of island population or any other breakdown.

Last year there were questions about some of the limitations contained in the order, and the new special importation procedures. One critical question was whether or not the Customs Department had been instructed to limit the duty exemptions only to disaster relief agencies and groups operating at the time. Similar questions are likely to be asked in the next days.

Another question centered around the role of NEMA with respect to donations: since NEMA was to approve all applications for the duty and VAT-free import of rebuilding and replacement items, and presumably is to do so this time as well, is NEMA sufficiently staffed to quickly and expeditiously process these applications?

K. Quincy Parker, Guardian Business Editor

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