October 17, 2012Dear Sir,Today, I received by mail a talking watch for a friend of mine who is legally blind.The value of this watch, which was obtained from the Canadian Institute for the Blind, was $14.05. I was told that the duty was $3.51 and "wharfage $5". I queried it with the postal person and she very kindly checked with her supervisor, who in turn checked with Customs. Eventually I was informed that if I took the invoice to Dr Cann, the Chief Medical Officer, and should he authorise it, I could then go to the Customs Long Room in Hamilton and once they had stamped it, I would be able to pick up the watch at the Post Office. I declined that option because it would have cost me more in time to run around chasing these people and so I paid the duty.Two points arise from this small event.1. Why can’t we have a system whereby the visually impaired can have their Special Persons card with some notation, and such things they may require for assisting their day to day living, can be allowed in duty free without having to do the big run around?2. The Bermuda Customs Declaration form which used to be completed by the postal workers at a cost of $1 has jumped to $5 this year. It is now classified as "Wharfage" but we all know that is a load of BS. If I jumped my prices by five times I would be out of operation in a very short time, on top of which the duty rate is 25 percent where, if I was a registered importer for watches, it would be a lot less.Government is trying to recoup the money they are wasting by nickel and dime-ing.The sooner we can get some responsible Government, the better Bermuda will be.Unfortunately, whoever gets to be the Government at the next election will have one big mess to clear up and it most likely will take at least ten years before we will see positive results.ANTONY SIESEPaget