A motion giving all commercial land and boat tour operations concessions under the Industrial Development Act was passed on Friday, despite strong reservations from the Opposition about transparency.

Finance Minister Paula Cox moved that all commercial land and boat tour operations be considered approved schemes under the Act, allowing for Customs duties deferrals for up to five years.

The Act allows approved schemes to receive Customs duty deferrals for up to five years. Making such operations approved schemes would expedite the process, Ms Cox said, as they would need only Cabinet approval, and not the approval of the House of Assembly.

They could also be approved at any time during the year, instead of having to wait for approval if the House is not in session. ?This could be the financial difference turning the unattainable into something viable,? she said.

Ms Cox also outlined four such schemes which have applied for the concessions.

However Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons, while supporting the idea, voiced concerns about transparency and whether or not this Act was the right vehicle for such a move.

The Act was originally passed in 1968 as a means of deferring duty on the materials used to build what is now the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, he said. ?That was a very specific project.?

It was used again in 2000 to help bring in the Wildcat, giving Lawrence Ltd. a very clear two-year Customs deferral. ?Both bodies in Parliament were approving a very specific thing.?

Now the Minister was attempting to turn the Act into an umbrella of sorts. ?It is being used as a vehicle to do something it was never intended to do ... We?re not saying this shouldn?t be done, but we?re saying this is the wrong vehicle ? or the Act should be amended to make it an umbrella scheme,? like, for example, the Hotel Concessions Act.

As the amendment stands right now, he said, much is left unclear. The public would not know exactly what constitutes a land tour, for example, or for how long the Customs duty would be deferred. ?We?ve seen enough times over the years where there?s been abuse.?

As for the claim of expediting approval of such schemes, he said, ?this really galls me?.

Some of the schemes referred to by Ms Cox were brought to the Ministry of Finance in January or February of this year. ?Now it?s almost December, and they?ve lost an entire season ... the Ministry has missed the boat.?

It took five weeks for the company bringing the Wildcat in to get approval for Customs duty deferments, he said.

However, Ms Cox replied, Government has thought the details through.