The government intends to remove the customs duty from roughly three dozen food items amid a historic rise in inflation.

Prime Minister Philip Davis, after presenting his 2022/2023 budget communication, tabled the Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Tariff (Amendment) Act, 2022 in the House of Assembly last week, which detail the changes to the customs duty rate reductions.

The majority of the food items being made duty-free had a duty rate of five percent. These items include cheese, lettuce, salad beetroot, turnips, cucumbers, peas and beans, asparagus, celery, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, spinach, pumpkin, corn, beets, artichoke, yams, cauliflower, broccoli, cassava, sweet potato and all preserved vegetables, yeast and baking powder.

Additionally, prepared beef, pork and turkey are being reduced from 20 percent to duty-free; protein powder is being reduced from 40 percent, vegetable-based flours from 35 percent, raw ground nuts from 10 percent and mashed potatoes are being reduced from 35 percent to duty-free.

Other foods like chicken eggs are being reduced from 30 percent to five percent, chicken parts from 30 percent to 10 percent and duck from 10 percent to five percent.  

During his communication to the House of Assembly, Davis said these duty and excise reductions would assist in lowering the cost of living for Bahamians who have in recent months complained about rising inflation.

A wide variety of materials used in building are also being made duty-free, including lime, hurricane impact PVC windows, plastic roofing, ceramic roofing tiles, roof trusses and felt. Other building materials like joint compound, other sealants, PVC pipes and plastic bathroom fixtures like sinks and basins are being reduced to five percent.

Printers and computer parts have also been made duty-free, as well as video phone sets, telecommunication towers, electrical cables, headphones, Wi-Fi devices and voice handsets.

Walking sticks have been reduced from 45 percent to duty-free, electric lawn mowers from 35 percent to 10 percent, electric golf cars from 30 percent to 10 percent, gas tanks from 45 percent to 25 percent, and synthetic or reconstructed precious or semi-precious stones from 45 percent to duty-free.

On the other hand, the government intends to increase the duty rate on tobacco products. Tobacco leaves are being increased from 10 to 25 percent, cigars from $0.50 to $3 per stick, cigarettes from $0.15 per stick to $25 per stick and cigarillos are expected to see a 300 percent increase in customs duty.

The prime minister also announced that the government will reduce the duty on electric cars with a value of under $70,000 to 10 percent and for vehicles over $70,000, the duty will be 25 percent.

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