Duties and Tax Exemption

For contact information regarding government customs authorities, please follow this link: 4.1 Jamaica Government Contact List

Emergency Response

All Jamaica customs activities are governed by the Customs Act. The Jamaica Customs Act may be found at: https://www.jacustoms.gov.jm/sites/default/files/docs/The%20Customs%20Act.pdf

Jamaica also has a provisional clearance goods form (C88 Form) under Section 30 of Customs Regulations. A guide for provisional clearance may also be found at: https://www.jacustoms.gov.jm/sites/default/files/docs/Provisional%20Clearance%20Form%20Procedure.pdf

Application guidance for provisional clearance may also be found at: https://www.jacustoms.gov.jm/sites/default/files/docs/PLC_new.pdf

Exemption Regular Regime (Non-Emergency Response)

The Charities Act

The guidelines for importing charitable items fall under the Charities Act (2013). The Act serves to maintain, protect and enhance public trust in charitable organisations, and seeks to ensure accountability and that board members comply with their legal obligations. Any person or entity, incorporated or not incorporated, seeking to function as a charitable organisation must be registered with the Department of Cooperatives & Friendly Societies (DCFS) (www.dcfsjamaica.org), in order to obtain the prescribed benefits.

Donations to Charities

• The beneficiary must be registered in order to obtain the stipulated benefits.
• The donor must provide the name and address of the beneficiary or consignee.
• For shipments to multiple beneficiaries, each beneficiary must be named on the shipping documents.  

Clearing Charitable Items

• The charitable organisation must submit the original Approved Charitable Organisation Certificate (ACO), along with the shipping documents to the Collector of Customs.
• The Collector of Customs will verify the documents and return the original copies.
• Verified copies of the documents will be sent to the Customs Manager at the relevant warehouse.
• The consignee or authorised representative must proceed to the warehouse and follow the clearance procedures.
• Goods with a Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of more than USD $5,000.00 must be cleared by a licensed Customs Broker.

If items are being cleared on behalf of a consignee, the representative must present a letter of authorisation, signed and stamped by a Justice of the Peace (JP). The consignee’s Tax Payer Registration Number (TRN) card and valid identification must be presented to the Customs Official (photocopied documents must be signed/stamped by a JP).

Benefits to a Registered Charity

• There is no import duty charged, in most cases.
• There is no General Consumption Tax (GCT) charged, in most cases.
• Only fifty per cent (50%) of applicable Customs Administration Fee (CAF) is applied.
• All other applicable fees will be applied.

Importation of a Motor Vehicle by an Approved Charity

• For motor vehicles, full Import Duty, Environmental Levy and GCT are applied.
• Fifty per cent (50%) of applicable CAF is applied.
• No Special Consumption Tax (SCT), no Stamp Duty (SD), and no additional Stamp Duty (ASD) is charged.   

Auditing of an Approved Charity

The Customs Act gives the JCA the authority to audit any person or entity, including charitable organisations, in order to ensure that the items imported by the approved charity are used, or are being used for the intended purpose.

Please refer to the following link in order to get access to Jamaica Customs Agency Charities Act – 2013.

Please refer to the following link in order to get access to Jamaica Customs Agency Organizational Chart: https://www.jacustoms.gov.jm/sites/default/files/Chart.pdf

Exemption Certificate Application Procedure

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements

Customs Clearance

General Information 

Customs Clearance Document Requirements

Transit Regime

The customs procedure under which goods are transferred from the importing means of transport to the exporting means of transport occurs within the area of one customs office, which is the office of both importation and exportation. (Kyoto Convention-Specific Annex E Chapter 2 pp.3 (2000)).

In order for a transhipment declaration to be made there must be a registered waybill indicating Nature “28”, reflecting an intention for the cargo to be transhipped to a destination outside Jamaica.  If due to an error the ‘nature’ of transit was not stated, approval must be given by the authorized customs personnel in the form of an amendment. A declaration reflecting the appropriate regime type and customs procedure is required to initiate the process. This declaration is then processed at the customs border office of departure and arrival within the country.

*Relevant fees are charged.