Strengthening Data for Planning and Decision-making

The Ministry of Financial Services, Economic Development and Digital Transformation, in partnership with His Majesty’s Customs and the Central Statistics Office (CSO), recently met with customs brokers and vendor representatives to discuss ways to improve data submissions and import declarations for the Protected Basket of Good initiative.

The meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the Customs Automated Processing System (CAPS), while sharing experiences and challenges encountered during the declaration process. It was highlighted that reliable import statistics is necessary for the Protected Basket of Goods initiative, which is intended to reduce the cost for a collection of essential items. This information will help the Government to better monitor consumer trends, evaluate relief measures and make informed decisions that support residents and businesses.

Customs officials demonstrated a bulk-data-upload feature that will streamline this process for high-volume importers. This feature will allow brokers to submit information more efficiently while maintaining consistency. Discussions concluded on the improvement of operations at ports with options for new systems that would allow information to be completed and validated once shipping details become available. 

The Ministry, Customs and the Central Statistics Office thanked participants for their valuable contributions and reaffirmed their commitment to working closely with industry partners to enhance data quality, improve trade facilitation and support evidence-based policymaking across the Virgin Islands.