On 22nd January 2021, Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) staff, led by Deputy Director Kevin Walton conducted the first awareness session for 2021. The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce requested CBC support in conducting this seminar.
CEO Wil Pineau of the Chamber of Commerce expressed delight that CBC was able to assist, and he further stated the desire to have additional sessions throughout the year.
The presentation gave a general overview of CBC, but focused primarily on the Trade and Revenue portfolio headed up by Deputy Director Kevin Walton. Presentations were also made by Deputy Director Kevin Walton, Trade Compliance and Statistical Manager Michael Godfrey and Senior Officer Johann Taylor. Additionally, the team including Assistant Director for Collections Kerrylyn Ebanks, clarified queries of relevance from the participants.
Deputy Director Walton states, “I am very pleased with this initiative and anticipate that for both entities, CBC and the Chamber of Commerce, this will be the start of a productive partnership. Seminars of this nature will significantly help us to move forward in our intelligence-led risk management approach of operation.”
Topics of interest included but were not limited to CBC’s new business processes; and the organisation IT platform which speaks to Customs Information Management Systems (CIMS), Customs Online Systems (COLS) and electronic declarations ( E-declaration). Of equal benefit to participants was an understanding of Tariff classification and how goods are managed under the Customs Law. Extremely welcoming news was the addition of the CBC Customer Support Centre (CSC).
The Customer Support Center was established and designed to manage and coordinate the increased volume of both telephone and email queries. Through a new managed process queries are now answered in a timely manner.
The thirty six participants in attendance were enthusiastic and engaging. Training and Development Manager Jenifer Gager-Sterling explains, “Training is critical to business outcomes. The context sets the stage for success or failure. Proactively assisting clients using CBC service is a win win for everyone; and the customers served by CBC deserve to be assisted and thus make doing business with us a pleasurable experience”.
CBC was established in February 2019 following the merger of Immigration and Customs Department.
