Posted: Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015. 8:18 p.m. CST
By Aaron Humes: Importer Jack Charles is taking a case to court to compel the Belize Agricultural Health Authority to state its case against him in relation to his importation of three containers of cheaper Guyanese rice from the Big Creek port, which remain there at present.
Charles’ attorney, Leroy Banner, today explained that they are seeking the Court’s intervention because BAHA is holding things up without explanation.
Banner says they hope the matter can be heard next week notwithstanding the Christmas season.
After tomorrow, Christmas Eve, if the Belize Agricultural Health Authority does not give Charles the permit to take out the containers, it will start to cost him.
He will have to start paying a storage fee on the Port’s compound. Since storage is paid by week, it will run him up to just over 8 hundred Belize dollars for the first week.
Thereafter, the fee jumps to 1 thousand two hundred and will keep increasing every week for three weeks before stabilizing at one set rate by the 5th week.
This of course, is aside from the sales that the owner of RC Imports is losing out on during the most lucrative time of the year.