Businesses said yesterday they were caught cold by Government after a revenue Act affecting all importers was tabled without consultation.

Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling said he only found out on Monday that the Revenue Amendment Act had been tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday.

And while there were a number of good “housekeeping” changes, there was still confusion about what some meant, which could have been explained if businesses were consulted in advance, he said.

And archaic measurement terms dating from the 19th Century such as hogsheads are still included in the Revenue Amendment Act 2004 tabled by Finance Minister Paula Cox on Friday.

“I am disappointed at the lack of consultation,” Mr. Gosling told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

“If there had been prior consultation, a number of question marks would have been removed and we could have stood on the sidelines voicing our support rather than asking for some of these questions to be resolved after the fact.

“Until a couple of years ago, the Revenue Amendment Act was the backbone of government revenue earning. Everything that comes into the Island comes through consideration of the Revenue Act of 1898.

“While it was brought up to date, it would be nice in an open and transparent form of governance that the importers would have been made aware of this prior to the event.”

Mr. Gosling said there were good things in the new legislation, which appeared to pave the way for more bonded warehouses.

Bonded warehouses allow businesses to store goods such as spirits and tobacco and not pay duty to Government until they are taken out to be sold.

The legislation changes the wording from “building” to “premises” and changes to plural, suggesting companies could have more than one bonded warehouse, he said.

He welcomed the setting up of a tax appeal tribunal where residents can go if they feel they have been overcharged on goods they have imported.

Prior to that, they had to go to Supreme Court, which could be extremely expensive, he said.

“One good thing they have done is set up a process for how Customs value goods if you don't have an invoice,” said Mr. Gosling. “And while we have issues with how Customs value goods coming into the Island, it is good that we now have set up a procedure.

“If we had consultation it might have been a bit more of a laborious process for the Collector of Customs, but we could have had a system that made the rightful payment of Customs duties slightly more efficient.”

But there is confusion about what “container” means and the explanatory notes are missing, said Mr. Gosling.

Ms Cox did not return a call seeking comment yesterday afternoon.