Solomon Islands Customs & Excise Division Communications and Outreach Officer Raymond Hulanga facilitating at the Customs Pre-Departure Briefing session held on Friday last week.
The Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division (SICED) continues to reach out and conduct its first-ever Pre-Departure Briefing session with the New Zealand pool of workers/recruits (locally known as “seasonal workers”) who will be travelling to work in various locations in New Zealand under the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme.
A total of 58 workers/participants attended the Customs and Excise Division during their Pre-Departure Briefing session.
During their briefing on Friday last week, staffs from the Customs Reform and Support team briefed the workers to clearly understand the Customs roles and functions at the Airport, as well as provide the necessary information on prohibited and restricted Imports, including customs laws and acts in the country.
The session allows these workers to learn and foster their understanding of the key Customs and Excise Division’s mandated legislation to perform key roles and functions, including Revenue Collection for the Government, Facilitating Trade, and protecting our borders from illegal and prohibited movement of goods and people into the country.
At the Briefing session, Customs staffs advised and highlighted the importance of Customs roles at the Airport regarding passenger processing and Declaration checks at Pre-departure and pre-arrival, Duty Assessment and calculation, types of concessions and Personal effects, Customs Requirements for Passovers, and how to complete the mandatory passenger Declaration card.
Expressing his appreciation, Raybon Pitanoe acknowledged the Customs & Excise Division team for such initiatives for reaching out and educating them on such information that is vital for them when they travel abroad.
“This is my first time to travel and to work in New Zealand as a Driver.
“The information received during the Customs Pre-Departure Briefing is new to me, such as Duty-Free Concessions, Prohibited and Restricted imports, and Customs laws, roles, and responsibilities at the Airport as a passenger when travelling abroad.
“This will also help me a lot to meet Customs requirements, processes, and procedures, so that I can comply with these Customs laws when traveling, but moreover when sending goods to our families back home as well,” Mr. Pitanoe explained.
“I would like to thank the Customs & Excise Division and Labour Mobility Unit (LMU) for continuing and maintaining this kind of approach to help our people and our community be well-informed before traveling,” Pitanoe concluded.
These workers are comprised of returning and new ones, who will be working in different locations, which consist of 20 women who will be working at Gourmet Paprika (Auckland), including 38 men who will be working at Bayley Produce (Hawkes Bay), respectively. Currently, there are 527 Solomon Islanders working in New Zealand under the RSE scheme.
Under the Customs & Excise Act (cap 121) section 233, it states that it is a legal requirement that all goods subject to the Customs laws may be subject to examination. It also stated that it is the role and functions of the Customs and Excise to impose import or export duties upon any goods whatsoever that may be imported into or exported from the Solomon Islands and to revoke, suspend, reduce, increase, or alter any such duties, and to provide for the importation or exportation of any goods without payment of customs duty.
The Customs and Excise Division will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MFAET) under the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) to successfully deliver these kinds of sessions with the recruits to keep our citizens and communities informed and educated about the roles and laws of the Customs and Excise Division in the country.
The Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division (SICED) performs and enforces its mandatory functions through the Customs Act Cap 121 (2003) and the Customs Valuation Act 2009.
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[Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division (SICED) Press]
