Customs to go paperless by the end of the year

Shastri Boodan
GML Freelance Contributor

The Customs and Excise Division is aiming to go largely paperless by year‑end, Comptroller of Customs and Excise Riad Juman has announced.

Speaking on Friday at the Youth Transforming Caribbean Procurement seminar, hosted by Sustainable Systems in collaboration with the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, Juman said the initiative would boost efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.

While acknowledging that a fully paperless system may not be achievable immediately, he set a target of more than 70 percent by December.
“I told them I want to go paperless by the end of the year, but IT says, hmm. But I will get it done,” Juman said.

He explained that the transition forms part of a broader modernisation drive, with Customs seeking to build greener, more efficient supply chains. Procurement and customs decisions, he noted, will shape regional economic development over the next decade.

“Behind every shipment that clears our ports, there’s a chain of decisions — on classification, valuation, risk, compliance,” he said, urging young people to consider careers in logistics and procurement.

Juman stressed that Customs today extends far beyond inspections at ports, encompassing risk profiling, tariff classification, valuation, audits, and increasingly, technology‑driven processes. Artificial intelligence, blockchain, drone delivery, and real‑time monitoring are already reshaping global trade.
“These are not futuristic concepts anymore. They’re here right now,” he said.

He called on young, tech‑savvy professionals to help build solutions tailored to the Caribbean, rather than relying solely on imported systems. Training opportunities, he added, are available through the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council, the World Customs Organization, and regional certification programmes.

Juman also highlighted Customs’ role in environmental protection, screening shipments for prohibited substances, non‑compliant goods, and invasive species. He urged importers to verify suppliers’ compliance before goods reach local borders.
“Waiting until the goods arrive at our border to discover a problem is, frankly, too late,” he said.

Sustainable procurement, he argued, requires closer collaboration among Customs, the Office of Procurement Regulation, and other agencies. Regional cooperation through the CARICOM Single Market and Economy is also key, with countries working to align customs procedures and sustainability standards.

Trinidad and Tobago’s practices, Juman noted, are tied to international commitments such as WTO trade facilitation rules, the WCO SAFE Framework, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Programmes like the Authorised Economic Operator initiative can ease trade for compliant businesses while allowing Customs to focus resources on higher‑risk activities.

He urged entrepreneurs to embed sustainability in their operations — sourcing from certified green suppliers, reducing packaging waste, and choosing logistics providers with lower carbon footprints.
“This is not simply the ethical choice. It is also the commercially smart choice,” he said.

Pointing to models such as Singapore’s paperless trade systems, the EU’s Green Customs Initiative, and Canada’s Sustainable Procurement Framework, Juman said the region could adapt successful practices without repeating mistakes.

“Sustainability in trade is not someone else’s job,” he concluded. “It is a conversation for the entrepreneur deciding which supplier to source from, for the young developer deciding which problem to solve, and for the graduate deciding which career path to pursue.”