Customs and Excise Host Annual Celebration

The twenty-sixth of January is celebrated annually as World Customs Day and today the local Customs and Excise Department commemorated the day by setting up information booths inside the Battlefield Park in downtown Belize City. In April of 2008, the department joined the World Customs Organization and has since been upgrading the processes within the unit.  Today, Belizeans got an opportunity to see the soft side of the department where they are trying to get persons compliant which would allow them to get their goods on time and costs reduced. News Five visited the Battlefield Park today and spoke with Acting Deputy Comptroller Estelle Leslie about the celebration.

Estelle Leslie

Estelle Leslie, Acting Deputy Comptroller, Customs

“As members we benefit from several initiatives of that organization. One of them is that the organization helps in customs administration in being more efficient and effective. And one way it does that is through getting them modernized and with the introduction of a new system in 2009, and so today under the theme Data Analysis For Effective Border Management, we are focusing on two of our newest areas/units in the customs and excise department—the post clearance unit and the risk management unit.”

Duane Moody

“Now Miss Estelle, this is happening only here in Belize City or in other districts?”

Estelle Leslie

“Well we have officers in Corozal and in Benque who every year they go out but not at this magnitude. They might got to schools and educate students as to what customs is all about because it starts from there. And the more people that know what we do, then it is better for us. It makes our job much more easier. So this day is also about education.”