Speaking at the 121st anniversary church service of the Barbados Customs and Excise Department held at Power in the Blood Assembly in Tudor Bridge, St. Michael on Sunday, Acting Comptroller Lynette Padmore has revealed key figures and pressing challenges facing the country’s border management and revenue collection agency. Between the start of the 2023 fiscal year and July 2024, the department collected roughly $5.46 billion in total revenue, but Padmore cautioned that overall collections would have been significantly higher if not for more than $3 billion in lost revenue stemming from legal trade concessions, official duty waivers, and widespread suspected fraudulent tax evasion.
Padmore specifically called out two pervasive illegal practices that are bleeding public revenue: the intentional undervaluation of imported goods and falsified under-invoicing that lowers the tax base for cross-border shipments. Beyond its core revenue mandate, the department has also made significant progress in intercepting illicit goods at the country’s entry points. Padmore reported that customs officers posted at Barbados’ international airport, seaports, and the General Post Office seized just under 1,000 kilograms of illicit vegetable cannabis, with an estimated street value of roughly $8 million. The agency also confiscated 12 unregistered firearms, 15 unauthorized ammunition magazines, and approximately 900 rounds of live ammunition. A wide range of other prohibited contraband, including cocaine, methamphetamine, dangerous tactical equipment, camouflage material, tasers, and unapproved power drills for illicit construction, have also been seized at Barbados’ borders in recent months.
Padmore warned that small island nations like Barbados face growing, evolving threats from transnational smuggling and tax fraud, and that these risks can not be addressed if local agencies work in isolation. She emphasized that coordinated inter-agency cooperation is critical to securing the country’s borders, noting that the Customs and Excise Department already maintains active operational partnerships with the Barbados Police Service, the Department of Immigration, the Barbados Defence Force, the Barbados Coast Guard, and a network of regional and international law enforcement partners. “Together we engage in targeted operations which aid in developing strategies for specific border controls, anti-smuggling efforts, and fraud investigations,” Padmore explained.
To keep up with rapid shifts in global trade and increasingly sophisticated smuggling and fraud tactics, Padmore said the department is pursuing a wide-ranging modernization agenda centered on digital transformation. “This modernised Customs and Excise Department must now adapt and lead from the front with automation, data-driven risk management, efficiency, and integrity in this fast-paced environment where we find ourselves today,” she said. The agency is also confronting a human resources gap created by a wave of recent retirements that has led to the loss of decades of institutional knowledge. With a large cohort of new, relatively inexperienced staff now learning core customs procedures, Padmore said targeted upskilling has become a top organizational priority, and the department is moving aggressively to expand training opportunities.
Starting this week, 18 customs officers will begin an intensive valuation training workshop hosted in partnership with the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC). That program will be followed by a agency-wide “Art and Heart of Service” professional development course run through the National Transformation Initiative. In recent months, officers have already completed specialized training in high-priority areas including small arms and light weapons identification, illicit trafficking detection techniques, synthetic drug recognition, artificial intelligence for cybersecurity, and advanced data analytics. Most recently, three Barbados customs officers returned from specialized training programs in China: two completed coursework on smart customs systems and digital border management, while the third focused on sustainable green finance for trade regulation.
Padmore added that the department is currently exploring the adoption of new emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence tools and integrated smart management systems, to boost operational efficiency and enforcement effectiveness. Acknowledging that the department has faced public criticism in recent months over its performance, Padmore urged all staff to reaffirm their commitment to the agency’s core values of professionalism, integrity, accountability, and transparency. “Together, we can restore our image, renew our efforts, and seek to change our current direction,” she said. The department’s 121st anniversary celebrations are being held this year under the theme “The Rise to Excellence Continues.”