Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that his administration will launch a comprehensive investigation into the Customs and Revenue Departments amid growing concerns about irregularities and possible corruption.
Browne told Parliament that the probe will extend across all revenue-collecting entities, aiming to identify weaknesses, root out misconduct, and restore public confidence in government operations.
He said the government is determined to ensure that the nation’s tax and customs systems operate with full transparency and accountability. The investigation will include both internal audits and external oversight mechanisms designed to expose wrongdoing and strengthen procedures.
“We are going system-wide, especially within Customs and other revenue areas,” Browne said. “There will be further redeployments, rotations, and additional systems put in place to include routine spot checks above and beyond those that take place at Customs.”
He revealed that private citizens will also be enlisted to participate in random inspections of containers alongside customs officials, targeting merchants suspected of underreporting or evading duties.
Browne added that similar scrutiny will extend to the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), where the government suspects some large entities, including supermarkets, may be bypassing electricity meters, depriving the state of revenue.
To oversee the reforms, the government will appoint a “revenue czar” who will work with the Inland Revenue Department to conduct forensic accounting and strengthen compliance.
“There’s a direct correlation between the cost of goods and the amount of duties to be paid,” Browne said. “We will use financial statements and import data to determine what the tax liability should have been and verify it against what was actually paid. We are tightening up system-wide.”
The move follows recent revelations of procedural breaches within government departments, including the Customs Division, which led to redeployments and the resignation of Comptroller of Customs Raju Boddu earlier this week.
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It’s about time.
All these recent shenanigans calls for a comprehensive, full and broad investigation carried out by a noteworthy forensic auditor. Breaches such as this might have been long and far resulting in thousands and perhaps millions of lost revenue for government overtime. It is so very sad when the head of customs is in some way implicated in these shenanigans. Resigning for “health” reasons and running away eh. What a life to live.
Smokes and mirrors!!!
I double dare you to move your wife from Public Works
Some old timer friends of mine would say that a probe into the customs and revenue departments is maybe 30+ years too late in Antigua but clearly, someone important has been caught with their hand in the cookie jar and these days, it’s far harder to hide the actions of corrupt individuals than decades ago. The dark skies and rain hammering Antigua today are a perfect backdrop to all of this.
About time yes, but this is what I meant when I repeatedly said on this forum that this government has squandered the golden days of Antigua’s economy, because of its failure to regulate these blatant corruptions over the years.
At no time in the history of Antigua has there being more goods and services sold, no time..more money came into this country than what John can read about. Trillions of tons of goods, tourist spending billions, investment pouring in, and we have hardly anything to show for it, because these checks and balances were not put in place.
The golden years of Antigua was between 2013 and now..right after America’s recession. People were traveling and shipping trillions of tons of goods, so that means more duties,taxes, VAT coming in, and where the money?
And don’t even talk about during COVID..Americans were spending billions in the many Stimulus packages that the government were giving out, and a big portion of that money came to the Caribbean, because Antigua and a few other islands were open for traveling.
So, yes he’s doing something now, but who is to blame? It was in his power to put in these regulations, and he failed, now all the money is gone and was stolen..
Damn shame indeed.
The system of governance is not transparent, therefore, investigating itself is futile.
This requires an INDEPENDENT INQUURY set up by the Governor General, even though he appears soft and timid on these vital issues which affect the entire system of governance, as the very least bring in legal investigators and give them the special powers required to get to the bottom, top, side, 360 X 360 degrees, of these shenanigans.
The government cannot be trusted to investigate itself.
The People who claim, that they love country should petition the Governor General for this Special Council from the Commwealth.
Both an ONLINE PETITION and one on the ground should be set up immediately, and drop them on the GG.
This sudden move by the Cabinet looks like it’s more to get this SCANDAL BAGGED up, in a #scandal_brown_bag before the Nation hosts the Heads of State next year. What a thing, if a real inquiry is held and members of the Finance Department have been charged, and are awaiting trial?
You literally cannot make nor fathom the kinds of shit which top officials in Antigua are always embroiled in.
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏿Garrat_Bastard
Vere Edwards
Shredding machines will be the top selling item in Antigua going forward.
Corruption central.
Give me a break. ALP.and UPP governments have governed under massive corruption at Customs. Nothing new and no one has done anything. Most of the brokerage firms are owned by Customs officers. They also have pick ups so they clear and transport cargo. This is public knowledge and their million dollar homes and cars and there for all to see. So please don’t try to fool us again. The ONDC are all blind. Money laundering right in front their faces. This is just noise to hide the cover-up.
I hope that the next Comptroller of Customs is a national of Antigua and Barbuda. Someone who is a CPA with the knowledge of customs brokerage.
@T. Davis.
We all get that point, but as a few of my very astute colleagues said on this very forum.
“Stop the damn hypocrisy”. for them to keep using a lie to cover another lie, and all the damn propaganda is what tick many us off.
We are not saying it’s right..but call a damn spade a spade and lead the country the right way if you are going to have all the damn bluster on your radio show every damn week.
Jesus Christ man..when enough is enough?
Like I said in the past..if 5 good men are found in Antigua, well maybe the good Lord will save this island, but I doubt we can find them.
The weakest link in any revenue collection agency is the illegal unfettered powers of the political directorate, where policy makers make themselves policy enforcers. Second is a culture where department heads are afraid to question the political directorate, they do whatever fhe politicians say even is illegal. Third is the idea that the Cabinet is all powerful and that it’s decision cannot be question.
Please! Please! People don’t get excited, government launch probe into customs revenue is an internal government exercise that the government and most specifically the prime minister alone will be privily to, making him a more powerful man to have the support of his pairs and civil servants out of fear of incrimination, this custom fiasco instead should have a public independent audit by some organization and placed in the public for prosecution, in that way we will be sure to he prime minister have clean hands and he himself or his close friends or business interest with these desperate land acquisition especially in Barbuda. Let there be an audit to clean up the customs, remember there was assassination of customs officers so the audit will lead to that crime.
I call for a full independent audit investigation of customs.
Please! Please! People don’t get excited, government launch probe into customs revenue is an internal government exercise that the government and most specifically the prime minister alone will be privy to, making him a more powerful man to have the support of his pairs and civil servants out of fear of incrimination, this custom fiasco instead should have a public independent audit by some organization and placed in the public for prosecution, in that way we will be sure the prime minister have clean hands and he himself or his close friends or business interest with these desperate land acquisition especially in Barbuda doesn’t profit from the state unlawfully. Let there be an audit to clean up the customs, remember there was assassination of customs officers so the audit will lead to that crime.
I call for a full independent audit investigation of customs.
@djude. Making an Antiguan the Comptroller of Customs will change nothing. All the customs officers are Antiguan and most of them are millionaires. The system is corrupt aided by political interference. It is not just an ABLP problem. It was even more corrupt under the UPP. So unless someone bells the cat and cleans house and implements a system, nothing will change. And I guarantee nothing will change. Corruption is now a way of life and Antiguans have become accostomed to freebies so once the corrupt ones continue to share the hams and turkeys and crumbs from the table our beggey beggey people will be happy.
Corruption is a way of life in Antigua, it has always been that way and will always be. The top cannot be slack and the rest of society be tight. The top will always investigate the bottom but who can investigate the top when they are the biggest culprits. This is Gangsters Paradise
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