MPs abolished the stipulation on residents being out of the Island for more than 72 hours before getting breaks on duty.

Finance Minister Paula Cox on Monday said the The Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2004 would reduce bureaucracy and allow resources to be concentrated on interdiction.

Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons welcomed it and said it would end bitter arguments between Customs officers and residents who had returned just minutes under the 72-hour cut-off. There was broad support for a bill granting a five-year extension of relief in the Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 1991.

Ms Cox said it gave zero-rated Customs duty on imported goods for hotel renovation.

She noted the dire need for the Act after the Island lost 20 percent of its hotel beds from Hurricane Fabian damage.

Dr. Gibbons said his party supported the Act but pointed out the measure had been the forerunner of the much vaunted Hotel Concessions Act 2000 brought in later by the Progressive Labour Party.

The Opposition also gave general support to the Banks and Deposit Companies (Fees) Amendment Act 2004 which makes fees payable to financial regulator the Bermuda Monetary Authority rather than the Accountant General.

Dr. Gibbons said the $3.5 million total was a large amount of money to come out of the consolidated fund and he expressed concern that the BMA didn?t become a bloated bureaucracy.

MPs also passed regulations standardising fees charged for trademark work which nets the island around $630,000 a year.