Parliament will convene today and there is one bill on their agenda is the Customs Amendments Bill 2022 which proposes for concession duties and to legalise the Investment Committee that has the legal authority to grant duty exemption for imported goods into Samoa.
The amendment is proposed under the Customs Act 2014 which regulates customs controls, management and enforcement, revenue administration, border controls and border management, trade and travel facilitation, as well as security.
The amendments seeks for duty exemptions may be granted for approved goods imported into Samoa in respect of a qualifying project, by way of the Investment Committee.
The measure proposed under the new section 127 that unless the context otherwise requires: “approved goods” means goods used in relation to a qualifying project approved by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance accordance with criteria prescribed in regulations; “qualifying project” means a motel, hotel, beach resort, other tourism development project, manufacturing development project, agriculture development project, fisheries development project or other development projects approved by the Minister of Finance, acting on the advice of Cabinet in accordance with criteria prescribed in regulations.
Any decision approved from the year 2014 by the Minister of Finance on the advice of Cabinet (on the recommendation of the Investment Committee) for the granting of exemption of duty for approved goods for a qualifying project, is validated as if it were made under this Act.
