Advance Cargo Information Bill Was Passed In National Assembly On Thursday September 3

Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 3, 2020 (ZIZ News):

Regional security was among the topics of discussion as parliamentarians have been hearing the presentations of three bills during Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly.

The documents going before parliament are The Advance Cargo Information Bill, The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Judicial Officers Pensions) Bill, and an amendment to The National Assembly Elections Bill.

During his presentation, Prime Minister Dr. The Hon Timothy Harris noted the significance of the Advance Cargo Information Bill, explaining that the bill will facilitate the sharing of information with other states to identify the cargo and persons that may pose risks to security, while also facilitating trade through electronic data interchange.

He said this new bill allows for more information to be collected by the Customs And Excise Department and the previous manifest system was “inadequate for our contemporary framework and the complex challenges now faced by border control”.

He said if the bill is successful the information provided would help to ensure that the customs and excise department would be in a better position to protect the federation and the region from threats emanating from international trade.

The Advance Cargo Information Bill was given a first, second, and third reading and was passed in National Assembly on Thursday.