Let’s take a closer look as we get ready for the big reveal on September 1st, 2019.ĪSYCUDA, acronym for Automated SYstem for CUstoms DAta, has been a buzzword for quite some time in the logistics industry here in Barbados and the wider Caribbean region at large. Be that as it may, current discussions with some key players who will be directly using the system revealed a general feeling of unpreparedness. Current Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn follows the same vein in a 2019 Barbados Today article, adding that ASYCUDA World will reduce clearance times and “eliminate cumbersome documents”. A 2014 NationNews article quoted the then Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler touting the increased ease to do business once the system is implemented, with him standing by those words again in 2017.
Of course, in Barbados its implementation is being pushed as a good thing. It has been a long time in coming (years) and we are actually one of the last countries in the Caribbean to implement and join the numerous other regions around the world using this shared system.
Barbados is finally moving ahead with the implementation of ASYCUDA World-the computerized customs management system and upgrade from ASYCUDA++.