Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss (left) and Executive Director of the Barbados Manufacturers Association (BMA), Bobbi McKay (second from left) during the Minister’s tour of BMEX exhibitions yesterday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. (See Page 3)

Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss (left) and Executive Director of the Barbados Manufacturers Association (BMA), Bobbi McKay (second from left) during the Minister’s tour of BMEX exhibitions yesterday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

 

Probe under way

 

A formal investigation will begin as early as tomorrow, into recent complaints that a local company is putting ‘Made in Barbados’ labels on products that have been imported.
 
The issue was first raised by Executive Director of the Barbados Manufacturers Associa-tion (BMA), Bobbi McKay last Friday at the opening ceremony of BMEX, as she insisted that such unscrupulous practices will not be tolerated in the manufacturing sector as it puts other players in the sector at a disadvantage. According to McKay, the infraction went a step further as the products on which the labels were changed were imported duty free.
 
Yesterday after touring the exhibits at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, the Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, gave the assurance that the issue will be examined, as his Ministry is committed to ensuring that all importers operate within the laws of this country.
 

“Where we are in receipt of such complaints, however they come, the staff in the Department of Commerce work closely with the BIDC [Barbados Investment and Development Corporation] and Customs in particular – items coming into Barbados, and being allowed through our ports of entry are fundamentally the responsibility of the Customs Department. But we certainly, working on behalf of the local manufacturers would launch an investigation,” he said.

 

The Commerce and Industry Minister made the point as he noted that this is not the first time that similar complaints have been made. He indicated that there have been instances in the past, particularly in relation to apparel that was falsely labelled. He disclosed that those items were either denied entry or the importers were forced to pay the requisite rate of duties on the imported goods. (JRT)

 

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