Filenews 24 September 2025
Customs brokers at the port of Limassol are going on a 24-hour strike on Thursday, asking for an extension in the implementation of the new Automated Import System (AIS), talking about problems and unsatisfactory training time. The President of the Association of Cyprus Customs Brokers, Christos Akaros, also expressed support for the strike by the customs brokers in Nicosia.
According to Mr. Akaros, after several delays, the new system was prepared last February and while there is a European directive for the training of those involved within 12 to 24 months, the competent bodies scheduled its implementation on June 30.
At the request of the customs brokers, he continued, a new extension was given until September 29, however, as he indicated, "in the context of our training, we identify problems, delays and traps from the system, which creates the risk of making mistakes".
He also noted that the Association has warned the Customs Department about the problems "but they did not respond" and therefore, its General Assembly decided to take strike measures, starting with the 24-hour strike for tomorrow, Thursday, September 25.
Asked about this, he said that "we ask for the postponement of the implementation of the system until problems and errors are corrected, for which we have informed them in our letter and until there is full training".
He also said that the strike is expected to affect the customs clearance of containers, which will remain in the "already overcrowded area of the port of Limassol".
At the same time, the President of the customs brokers noted that customs brokers at the Nicosia Customs Department will also participate in the strike, as a sign of support for their colleagues in Limassol.
He warned that if the authorities do not respond to the Association's requests, "we will continue to abstain indefinitely from using the new system."
CNA
