St Kitts & Nevis administration extends duty-free concession on non-commercial goods

Basseterre: St Kitts and Nevis administration has decided to extend the duty-free concession on non-commercial goods till the end of this month. This concessionary allowance was a part of the Christmas/Carnival relief package announced by Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris in the month of November.

The non-commercial importers were endowed duty-free allowance of EC$540 or US$200 off the Cost under the package.

Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris noted that the Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of goods was expected to end by December 31, 2021, but the disruptions to supply chains created significant backlogs in the delivery of packages.

Following this, several citizens could not clear their imported packages during the Christmas/Carnival Season, thereby not profiting from the approved concessions.

PM Harris further noted that duty-free concessions on foodstuff gift packages are up to 500 pounds in weight run-up to February 28, 2022, as his administration earlier promised.

“Owing to the ongoing disruptions in the supply chains worldwide, the government of St Kitts & Nevis has taken the decision to expand the duty-free concession on non-commercial goods until January 1, 2022″, the prime minister cited.

This extension will surely benefit the people across the twin-island Federation. This decision by the government has been taken, seeing the current sudden hike in the COVID-19 cases.

A few days back, St Kitts and Nevis recorded two infections of the new COVID19 variant, Omicron. After the discovery of the cases, there was an increase in the daily COVID19 infections.

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness report, there are 507 active cases of the COVID19 virus in the twin-island Federation. While, so far, 28 deaths have been reported by the health authorities.

In terms of vaccination, 81.4% of the population is partially inoculated, and 75.9% of the total population is fully immunised. Around 5.6% of the eligible population has taken its booster shots.