President of the Greater San Fernando Area Chamber of Commerce, Kiran Singh, said he’s hopeful that the government’s decision to double several customs fees, effective January 1st, would translate into greater efficiency within the Customs Division.
Effective from January 1st, 2026, the standard customs fee will be doubled, moving from $40 to $80, while fees at the Container Examination Station will also be increased, with one category increasing from $375 to $750 and another from $525 to $1,050.
Mr. Singh told TTT News he is looking forward to faster processing times and improved service delivery, which he believes would ultimately benefit businesses and trade.
“While it is not a welcome increase, we do understand that the expenses of the customs have to be covered by operational expenses and costs that are derived from it, and we expect that with the increased charges that customs efficiency will increase because we have been hearing of complaints for this Christmas season again that containers were delayed again at the port level, which prevented timely delivery of containers to the respective business places.”
According to Mr. Singh, once the increase in Customs fees takes effect, the new figures will be reviewed, and there will be conversations on how the increase will be dealt with.
He also pointed out that while it will have an impact on small traders, the Chamber does not anticipate any other major consequences.
“What we refer to as the suitcase traders, and the very small end of the businessperson who chooses to import goods to resell, may have some impact in terms of their cost levels, and it may impact on their profit margins, of course, and we would need to address how they would deal with those additional costs, but we don’t see it having a serious impact on the importation of goods unless they are importing in very small quantities that would impact on their bottom line.”
Mr. Singh says the Greater San Fernando Business Chamber remains committed to advocating for improvements in how the country conducts business, with the aim of achieving optimal efficiency and encouraging increased trade.