Opposition Leader Hon Ronnie W. Skelton (AL) has opined that guardrails need to be put in place in the Customs Management Duties Amendment Number 2 Act of 2025 to prevent against abuse of power. Photo: HoA/YouTube

The Customs Management Duties Amendment Number 2 Act of 2025 was debated in the House of Assembly on February 24, 2025. Photo: Internet Source/File

Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) told the House the bill’s primary objective is to strengthen the Territory’s compliance with international standards and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. 

“The amendments align with the recommendations of the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce and are critical in ensuring that the Territory meets its international obligations in preventing financial crimes,” he explained. 

This is not a new fight- Hon Skelton

Hon Skelton said there is good and bad with every piece of legislation brought to the House over the decades and this Bill is no exception. 

“This is not a new fight…While we have three hundred to three hundred and fifty thousand companies, corporate structures, corporate persons here in the Virgin Islands, you know these corporate structures are not going to be walking through Customs with monies in their pocket, money in their bag, they have other means of doing this,” he said. 

This Bill, Hon Skelton stated, gives the Commissioner of Customs the right to detain those they suspect of illegal activities, question and search them, in addition to doing what needs to be done to “ensure what they have suspected is not happening”. 

None of us are immune- Hon Skelton

Safeguards, Hon Skelton urged, are needed because no one is immune. 

“None of us. We can make all the noise that we want after the fact, after they search you to ensure somebody who don’t like you could basically send a message, so it needs some safeguards,” he explained. 

Hon Skelton continued that these provisions are not new and are not just for the Virgin Islands, as other countries like the United States also have them. 

“We see and we hear about some of the problems that travellers encounter. Even some of our own people travelling to the US encounter some of these stuff and they have all kinds of laws- Terrorist Financing, the Patriot Act and all kinds of stuff to really use on you to ensure that they make your life miserable,” he said. 

Hon Skelton added that while he has no objections to the Bill, the safeguards that are already put in place sound “good on paper” but need regulations that give protection from people in power. 

“We still have many, many of us who are law-abiding…so it is important for us while we do what needs to be done…but still we need to what we need to do to protect ourselves,” he continued.

Human Rights issue

The Opposition Leader also contended that there is no recourse against the Commissioner of Customs for violation of human rights in the process. 

“What are we developing here?” Hon Skelton asked. 

Hon Skelton reiterated that the Bill needs to be passed with proper regulations and “needs to made sure that our people are equipped to carry out these functions”.