AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Weather Tropical Storms & Hurricanes GET THIS!!!

OK, folks, Jeff gram is currently in Houston preparing to bring in a lot of supplies to help a lot of people(thanks, Jeff).
I just spoke to him and advised him that Customs will be there waiting.
Let's help him out with proper procedures for getting this stuff through efficiently.
Who is SUMA? What will he need to clear customs without having to pay duty to help the people. Hurry with your response. He leaves tomorrow at 12:30. Let's help him!

FIND THE PRIME MINISTER, HAVE HIM SIGN AN EXECUTIVE ORDER OF RELIEF ON DUTY FOR THIRTY DAYS AND GET ON WITH IT!! REMEMBER A DEMOCRACY IS FOR THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE. THE PUP IS SIGNING THEIR OWN DEPARTURE PAPERS FROM GOVERNMENT WITH THEIR GREED. I AM A LANDOWNER ON AMBERGRIS AND HAVE DONATED TO RELIEF TOO. SOON I WILL BE A PERMANENT RESIDENT. IF I WERE THERE NOW, I WOULD BE IN HIS FACE MYSELF.

I've got the Belize duty books here at home , in Hou. but it would probably take to long too go thru everything Jeff has & catagorize it, but in reality thats want you have to do to pay the lowest duty possible. You have to beable to classify what you're bringing in under a lower duty.For example, lets say you want to bring in PVC outdoor furniture, remember this is just an example, but instead of classifying it as such, you calssify it as PVC pipe and webbing material. Obviously, the duty is higher on the furniture and if you just let customs go thru everything they will tax it at the higher rate. Everything is so incongruent and they have some of the same things classified under different categories only one of the catergories will be higher than the other. Jeff's best bet is to make a detailed manifesto of all items one at a time and what they are worth. Break things down, on the list, as much as possible into their individual components, instead of listing something an one entity. Put the lowest value possible on the item, after all customs doesn't know what things cost in the states. Everyone thinks things are cheap here anyhow. You can always say you got it on sale, someone gave it to you or thats its used so is worth less. With time being so short, thats the best I can do.

I agree with sugangg that in no way can charging duty on relief packages could ever be morally justified. Also, the fact that no accurate numbers have yet been released on how many Americans were and still are in Belize certainly doesn't help the image of Belize. I don't think these two factors are ever going to help the tourism industry in Belize. Personally, I think Belize would have better luck of getting outside help if they stopped "whining" about how their tourism industry is going to be effected if they should happened to allow the press coverage. Who has their priorities right here?

We have gathered some things to send, but under the circumstances we have decided to donate them locally here in Crystal River, Fla. The attitude of customs really upsets us. We are close to making our fourth straight visit to AC in four years. We will be there in November, but we will not hassle with customs. We will send cash, as we were going to do anyway. We cannot believe this BS about customs for disaster relief.
Your leaders surely are assholes. Never the less, we will be there. We pray for all,
Bill and Judy Pickett
Crystal River, Fla.
pick@infi.net

I ditto all the suggestions that have been
made here. I come to Belize at least once
a year and customs has gotten to be....well,
you know. I can't believe that someone could
stand there and demand duty for RELIEF SUPPLIES!!!! I did send $$ and thought that
I'd figure out a way to send items fromTHE
LIST, but not if the people of A.C. and
C.C. are not going to get them!!! Patty Arceo
needs to meet with the Prime Minister immediately, and if need be, do the MEDIA
THING...it's always an attention getter....
GO FORWARD....

Please! If you have items collected and cannot or will not send directly to Belize, either send them to the San Antonio collection center (parcel post has a cheap rate) or have a garage sale and send the money collected to the Town Council.

San Pedro Relief
c/o Marietta
100 N. Main Street
San Antonio Texas 78205
//AmbergrisCaye.com/donations/ http://CayeCaulker.org/donations/

Call your bank. Tell them to send the money to:
BANK OF AMERICA INTERNATIONAL
ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER
NY, NY 10048-1191

ABA# 02600953

For Payment to:
The Belize Bank Limited
San Pedro Town, Belize
HURRICANE KEITH DISASTER RELIEF FUND
SAN PEDRO/CAYE CAULKER
FOR ACCOUNT NUMBER 5056176

For checks or money orders, send to:
Payable to:
San Pedro Town Council
Addressable to:
The Mayor
San Pedro Town Council
P.O. Box 54
San Pedro Town, Belize
Fax: 001-501-26-2492

The account name is: Caye Caulker Village Council, c/o Irene Miller (the only reason Irene's name is used is for address
only).
The account number is: 751289111.
The account is located at: Barcley's Bank in New York City; address 75 Wallstreet.
Irene said then it goes through a swiss acccount. That account number is: BARCUS33.
Then it has to go through the Barcley's Bank in Belize City, Belize.

AN INTERESTING LEGAL QUESTION: Any Belizean lawyers on this board or any govt. official should be able to look this one up quickly in the customs codes (as should anyone who has access to the published Belizean statutes regarding customs laws, such as a customs broker):

DO GOVERNMENT ENTITIES PAY DUTY?
I never heard of any country where a branch of the government must pay customs duty when it imports items for the public.

IS BELIZE AN EXCEPTION? If not, it would seem to me that if the RECIPIENT of an otherwise dutiable item is a GOVERNMENT entity (such as the Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker Town Board), it is EXEMPT from paying such duty.

Otherwise, you would have the absurd system of the public health dept (or ministry or whatever they call it) purchasing medical supplies and having to pay duty to itself. As another example: Does the BDF pay duty when the US govt donates anti drug weaponry and surveillance equipment that we all ready about? I would be real surprised if that occurred.
Did the British and US military contingent pay DUTY to the Belizean govt. on those 1,000 blankets, and other things it brought? I think not. I don't think it even occurred to anyone at customs to ASK FOR PAPERWORK! I would suspect the answer to all of the above is no.

Now, if GOVERNMENT ENTITIES do not have to pay duty on things that they import, it seems to me that all we need do is LABEL the cartons of relief supplies as belonging to the Town Board and there should be no more delays and demands for duty. If that is correct, the town board should quickly fax the names of the people who are bringing in these supplies so that there is a letter on file (with copies to the people bringing it in) documenting that the stuff belongs to a branch of government.

We need to start thinking out of the box here. If someone wants to send me a copy of the codes (send it as a file attachment or if you don't have it resident on your computer, fax it to me at: 510-405-2016 and I will review it, though it would certainly be best for a Belizean lawyer to do this. I would also want to see the codes that state what the status of the town boards for Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker are as governnment entities.
Also what exceptions to duty are there for charities, non profits, etc. if any?

Dear Reed,

Can you please post the e-mail addresses to the Belizean Ministry and/or other government officials on the message board that you have, so ALL of us on Marty's Message Board can send e-mails to them. They can dismiss one or two e-mails, but a couple of hundred would be harder to ignore.

Thanks! Jacques Vidrine
jacquesv@asbank.com

I can't help but sympathise with all the frustrations expressed in the messages above. I am sure that I would have been just as hopping mad as Madeline, had I been in her place.

However, the important factors are:

1. There are relief supplies arriving;
2. Those supplies need to get to the islands.

If shouting at Customs officers doesn't work (and, let's be honest, it never does, not in Belize, nor the US, nor in any other country I know), then it might be time to try something else.

As a positive suggestion, has the Red Cross, or some other relief organisation been contacted? Oxfam, or UNICEF? They aree in the business of emergency relief worldwide, and will surely have some expertise to help resolve the problem. Even better, the Red Cross is a member of SUMA, which is, after all, an organisation set up specifically to resolve this sort of problem.

All those good people ready to set off with supplies should consider this as a possible method of getting through Customs.

For all the good intentions, execrating about the GOB here doesn't move a single item from bond to the cayes. Once the immediate need - the transfer of the supplies - has been sorted, then the apparent lack of help from the GOB can be addressed - and, as one correspondent has already pointed out, the ballot box is the ultimate sanction.