Dominicans may no longer be required to collect small packages at the General Post Office. This is one of the intended outcomes of Asycuda World, a new online system meant to lessen the time taken to clear goods at the Customs and Excise Office.
Claire Wallace, Post Master General at the General Post Office says the new method should allow people to receive small packages as ordinary mail.
“At the Post Office anything that is more than half a half ounce is bulky and we do not know what is in there we would process as dutiable. So basically everything that’s bulky would be considered dutiable because we do not know the contents of it. So you would receive your pink slip in the mail and you would come into Post Office, where you would open your package and the Customs Officer would value it there and then you would pay. But I think Asycuda World will change that and many of the things that persons presently come to the Post Office to clear, it will go as ordinary mail which they would probably receive in their post boxes, delivery by the Post Man or in the district post offices or in the offices where we deliver mail.”
Ms. Wallace also said the new system will also mean that some packages will be examined by Customs Officials before arriving at the Post Office.
“Originally we did it wholly and soley at the Post Office with the Senior Post Man making the determination specifically for what we call small package. Small package can be a normal size enevelope, padded enevelope that is not normal size mail and even if it is normal size mail it may be bulky. It could be a post card and it is bulky, so anytime it is bulky and we do not know the value we would send it to Parcel Post for Customs determination. But with Asycuda the Customs will be there sorting the mail together with the Post Man and the determination will be made right there and then as to what is dutiable or not and really and truly we are hoping that there will be less small package going down to the Parcel Post.”
This new procedure is scheduled to take effect on 1st June, 2011.
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