BRA: Use drop box option for renewals

The Barbados Revenue Authority is asking persons who are renewing private vehicle registrations to use the drop box option, in an effort to reduce the lines in their offices.

The Authority’s Manager, Communications & PR, Carolyn Williams-Gayle, shared that this option would require persons to submit their proof of insurance coverage (cover note or certificate of insurance) and contact information in a sealed envelope before dropping it into the boxes provided.

“The drop boxes are cleared twice daily. So once the box has been cleared transactions will be processed for discs and stickers to be allocated. Persons will be contacted to collect or to resolve any issues encountered. Persons who are registering vehicles for the first time must go to a cashier to have these transactions processed,” she explained.

Williams-Gayle also noted that what should have been a simple non-cash process was being prolonged for two reasons.

“Droves of vehicle owners have waited until this late stage to avoid the risk of being fined for non-compliance, although the Ministry of Transport and Works would have introduced the registration stickers since last October. It is important to note even though road tax for private vehicles has been removed, those vehicles still have to be registered to be on the road legally,” she said.

“There are also instances where persons who did not renew on time are required to settle arrears to finalise the transaction. This is supposed to be a non-cash process, so if a person did not pay their requisite road taxes when they were supposed to, that creates an increase in wait times and a delay in issuing the stickers.”

She added, “So while registration stickers have been in place for a year, lots of persons have been crowding the BRA offices to ensure they acquire the required stickers in order to comply with the law. This entire episode has placed tremendous pressure on our staff and we trust that this option will improve service delivery.”