This was announced on Saturday by the country’s Prime Minister, Dr. Denzil Douglas, when he spoke at the 30th Annual Private Sector Banquet, held on the Freewinds Cruise ship, docked at Port Zante.
The Government said that the move is in line with their continued effort to bring renewable and sustainable energy sources to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, thus the Cabinet has approved a waiver of Import Duty and Customer Service Charge on certain products.
The concessions come in support of the National Energy Policy of the government to facilitate St. Kitts and Nevis becoming a country where sustainable, clean, reliable and more affordable energy sources are developed and used, explained a source in government.
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. Denzil Douglas, proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers the waiver of taxes on a range of alternative energy generating equipment and energy efficiency equipment.
The Prime Minister opined that the government has no control over the price of petroleum-based energy products and added that a lot could be done to reduce the cost of energy to the local population by spurring the development and use of alternative energy technologies and by creating an incentive for the use of energy-saving technologies by a wide cross-section of the populace.
As a result, Cabinet approved a waiver of Import Duty and Customer Service Charge on the following products:
– solar PV panels and ancillary equipment for generating electricity
– hydrogen fuel cells and ancillary equipment
– wind turbines and ancillary equipment
– energy-saving bulbs including LED bulbs
– solar water heaters and tanks
– solar AC units
– and other approved related equipment