Jet-setters should spend less time twiddling their thumbs in Airport Customs queues when a new flat rate of duty comes into force, told the House of Assembly.

Shoppers who flash their cash overseas will soon have to fork out more for clothes and toiletries, she confirmed, although charges for electrical equipment like televisions will be less.

Ms Cox, who also confirmed new duty relief on equipment for the hospital, fishermen, Harbour Radio and a new line of light manufacturing, said the flat rate would quicken Customs clearance at Bermuda International Airport.

?The single rate will speed up the calculation of duty payable and therefore should reduce queue times in the ?revenue lines? in the baggage hall at the Airport,? she added.

Government has already pledged more than 50 extra Customs officers to help speed up what for many can be a time-consuming and frustrating process.

But said the system could be streamlined further if passengers were given credit card-style Customs bills that could be paid after they left the terminal.

Finance Minister Ms Cox told MPs that Bermudians ?love to travel? and said that Bermudians and other residents took more than 130,000 trips overseas last year.

The value of non-commercial goods declared by returning residents and visitors at the Airport topped $60 million.

And the amount of duty collected from jet-setting shoppers returning laden with bags from American and Canadian malls totalled $10.1 million.

Clothes and shoes accounted for nearly half overseas purchases and raked in about $4.5 million, Ms Cox added. Electronic and camera equipment accounted for ten percent, swelling Treasury coffers to the tune of about $1.3 million.

Raising the billing idea, Mr. Dunkley said that he had spoken to Customs officials and they said one of the biggest gripes from passengers was the length of time spent waiting at the Airport.

The MP said travellers should be able to declare their goods at immigration, provide credit card details and pay when a bill got posted to their home.

?If taxpayers want to run from Government they can easily be found,? he added, asking Ms Cox to look at the idea.

?We need to make our system more user-friendly. People want to pay Customs duty but would rather pay it in an easier way than waiting in line.

?There?s no reason why we have to wait in line.?

however, rejected the Opposition idea. He described talk of long queues at Bermuda Airport as a ?red herring?. He said lines at major American terminals were ?very, very long? ? and getting longer. Mr. Dunkley?s suggestion would create more red tape when Government was trying to slash through it.

Earlier, raised concerns about shoppers who made rare trips overseas to get goods for their children not available in Bermuda or to take advantage of cheaper prices.

She said raising the duty rate on personal goods from 22.25 percent to 25 percent could create a certain amount of hardship and called on Government to keep an eye on the impact.

But her suggestion that Government lacked sensitivity towards the hard-up prompted jeers from the other side of the House.

said the two percent increase was ?negligible at best? and that travellers worked out how much they could afford to spent before they went away. He accused the UBP of putting out mixed messages on overseas shopping, and said traders would side with Government on the flat rate issue.

Under the bill, the rate for personal goods will rise from 22.25 percent to 25 percent. Duty on electrical items will fall from 33.5 percent. The duty free allowance of $100 remains.

Other changes will see the Island?s 332 registered fishermen get duty relief on storage and packaging equipment, bringing them in line with concessions given to farmers at last year?s Budget. Access to duty-free diesel is not included in the new bill, but is due to take effect from April 1, Ms Cox confirmed.

Concessions to the Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre, at Harbour Radio, aim to reduce equipment costs. And relief has also been granted for imported sheet steel used in drywall construction. This would support the growth of a new light industry, Ms Cox added, making it possible for orders to be placed for production in Bermuda rather than rely on bulk imports that often leads to waste. And she told the House this could help reduce the rate of price increases in some areas of housing and business construction.

She also said the Customs Tariff Amendment Act provided a simplified tariff for goods imported by post or through a courier service.

Ms Cox said that Customs revenue had been ?buoyant? and this made it easier to grant concessions that supported the Social Agenda.

The act was passed by MPs on Monday night and is now due to be debated in the Senate.