Yes.  The complete commodity classification and tariffs applicable in Jamaica are loaded on JTIP.  

In international trade, each product is assigned a particular classification code using the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System or simply Harmonized System (HS). The HS is the universal economic language and code for goods, authored by the World Customs Organization (WCO). 

You can search by Commodity Code on JTIP by clicking on “Commodity and Tariff” on the Menu Bar on the right-hand side of most pages of JTIP to find the applicable HS Code for your goods.

Customs Duty is the charge levied on imports and listed in the tariff schedules.

Customs Duty is charged under the Customs Act, the Law on Import and Export Tax and other government decrees. Customs authorities collect taxes on imported and exported goods, and apply measures to ensure the correct and full collection of taxes and other amounts payable in accordance with the laws on taxes, charges and fees and other corresponding regulations of law.

Goods can be classified as being commercial if they fall into any of the following categories:

• They are imported for business purposes.
• They are imported for resale.
• They are samples imported for business purposes.

• Shipping documents such as a Bill of Lading or Airway Bill.
• An authentic invoice from the supplier.
• Import permits or licences, where applicable.
• A Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC), Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) and a copy of the General Consumption Tax (GCT) Certificate.
• An Original Certificate of Origin, if the goods are being imported from a country with which Jamaica has a Trade Agreement, and for which preferential duty treatment is being claimed.

• Cash, up to a maximum of one million dollars (JA$1,000,000.00)
• Online Payment – importers must register with the JCA in order to pay online
• Debit or Credit Card
• Manager’s Cheque
• Direct Bank Transfer using Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
• Advanced Deposit Account

• Goods with a Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of more than US$5000.00 must be cleared by a licensed Customs Broker
• The clearance of all motor vehicles must be done by a licensed Customs Broker.
• Where the CIF value of the goods is US$5000 or less, the use of a Customs Broker is optional. Goods of this value can be cleared by the importer at the port of entry upon presentation of the clearance documents to the Customs Officer.

  N.B. Persons must ensure that they use only Customs Brokers who are registered with the Jamaica Customs Agency and possess a valid licence to practise.

• Commercial goods must be cleared using the Electronic Single Administrative Document (eSAD) on the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).
• If a Customs Broker is required, then all documents must be presented to the Broker who will complete the clearance process.
• When the service of a Customs Broker or local agent is used, the C73 Form must be completed by the importer and the form processing fee of JA$5000 paid to the JCA. This form is valid for one year.
• If a company employee/or person so authorised by the company, is used to effect clearance, a letter of authorisation from the company must be provided as well as a valid company ID (for employees).

• Collect shipping documents from local agent and pay relevant fees.
• A Customs Broker or authorised agent will prepare the commercial entry and submit to the Entry Processing Unit of the JCA.
• The importer/agent will proceed to the Customs Cashier and pay the relevant fees after the entry is passed by Customs.
• Proceed to the port or warehouse and pay the relevant local handling charges and storage fee if applicable.
• The warehouse operator will locate the goods and place them in the examination area.
• A Customs Officer will be assigned to examine the shipment against the documents presented by the importer/agent. If there are no discrepancies, a Customs Release will be generated.
• A gate pass will be issued to the importer/agent by the port operator.

The duty rates can be found by searching the commodities list for the particular goods you are to import and export.

Please click here to see various Customs duties applicable in Jamaica.

No. An import or export license is not compulsory for many commodities. However, there are specific types of goods that require an import/export permit before transactions.

As a member of the World Trade Organization Jamaica has to follow the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. There are three types of technical barriers:

• Technical Regulations are mandatory technical requirements for importers and exporters (mandatory compliance requirement).

• Technical Standards are the technical requirements to be approved by an organization that has been recognized; and

• Conformity Assessment Procedure This is the process of assessing the suitability of a commodity with the regulations and technical criteria.

Yes. Using a Customs Agent should ensure that all regulatory requirements are properly discharged and may save unnecessary delays. Customs brokers and customs broker employees shall exercise the rights and perform the obligations of customs declarants as prescribed in the Customs Act.

You must clear the goods at the Customs office where the Customs authorities receive, register and verify customs documents and conduct a physical inspection of goods. Places of inspection are at the international airports, seaports, and Inland Customs Depots where import, export, exit, entry and transit operation are carried out.

ASYCUDA (AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR CUSTOMS DATA) is the Jamaica Automatic Customs Clearance System. If you are importing and exporting goods through the ports and airports you must enter your e-Declaration into the ASYCUDA system.

Yes. All goods and vehicles for diplomatic missions approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are exempted from Customs duty. 

No. You can just walk through the Nothing to Declare - Green Channel. If you are carrying goods in excess of the duty-free allowance or if you are in doubt you must walk through the Red Channel and declare the goods to the Customs Officer on duty. At some airports, you can see Green and Red flashlights, which represent Green and Red Channels. If you are in doubt about this, please ask Customs officers at the airports. 

Generally, personal effects (except for motor vehicles/cars etc.) are exempted from Customs duties as long as they are not of a commercial nature and within the prescribed limit decided by Customs. If you are in doubt about the eligibility of certain items, you should contact Customs. Generally, holders of residence visas receive equal treatment as far as the free allowance entitlements are concerned.

For more information, you can visit the following agencies: 

Yes.  The complete commodity classification and tariffs applicable in Jamaica are loaded on JTIP.  

In international trade, each product is assigned a particular classification code using the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System or simply Harmonized System (HS). The HS is the universal economic language and code for goods, authored by the World Customs Organization (WCO). 

You can search by Commodity Code on JTIP by clicking on “Commodity and Tariff” on the Menu Bar on the right-hand side of most pages of JTIP to find the applicable HS Code for your goods.

Customs Duty is the charge levied on imports and listed in the tariff schedules.

Customs Duty is charged under the Customs Act, the Law on Import and Export Tax and other government decrees. Customs authorities collect taxes on imported and exported goods, and apply measures to ensure the correct and full collection of taxes and other amounts payable in accordance with the laws on taxes, charges and fees and other corresponding regulations of law.

Goods can be classified as being commercial if they fall into any of the following categories:

• They are imported for business purposes.
• They are imported for resale.
• They are samples imported for business purposes.

• Shipping documents such as a Bill of Lading or Airway Bill.
• An authentic invoice from the supplier.
• Import permits or licences, where applicable.
• A Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC), Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) and a copy of the General Consumption Tax (GCT) Certificate.
• An Original Certificate of Origin, if the goods are being imported from a country with which Jamaica has a Trade Agreement, and for which preferential duty treatment is being claimed.

• Cash, up to a maximum of one million dollars (JA$1,000,000.00)
• Online Payment – importers must register with the JCA in order to pay online
• Debit or Credit Card
• Manager’s Cheque
• Direct Bank Transfer using Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
• Advanced Deposit Account

• Goods with a Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of more than US$5000.00 must be cleared by a licensed Customs Broker
• The clearance of all motor vehicles must be done by a licensed Customs Broker.
• Where the CIF value of the goods is US$5000 or less, the use of a Customs Broker is optional. Goods of this value can be cleared by the importer at the port of entry upon presentation of the clearance documents to the Customs Officer.

  N.B. Persons must ensure that they use only Customs Brokers who are registered with the Jamaica Customs Agency and possess a valid licence to practise.

• Commercial goods must be cleared using the Electronic Single Administrative Document (eSAD) on the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).
• If a Customs Broker is required, then all documents must be presented to the Broker who will complete the clearance process.
• When the service of a Customs Broker or local agent is used, the C73 Form must be completed by the importer and the form processing fee of JA$5000 paid to the JCA. This form is valid for one year.
• If a company employee/or person so authorised by the company, is used to effect clearance, a letter of authorisation from the company must be provided as well as a valid company ID (for employees).

• Collect shipping documents from local agent and pay relevant fees.
• A Customs Broker or authorised agent will prepare the commercial entry and submit to the Entry Processing Unit of the JCA.
• The importer/agent will proceed to the Customs Cashier and pay the relevant fees after the entry is passed by Customs.
• Proceed to the port or warehouse and pay the relevant local handling charges and storage fee if applicable.
• The warehouse operator will locate the goods and place them in the examination area.
• A Customs Officer will be assigned to examine the shipment against the documents presented by the importer/agent. If there are no discrepancies, a Customs Release will be generated.
• A gate pass will be issued to the importer/agent by the port operator.

The duty rates can be found by searching the commodities list for the particular goods you are to import and export.

Please click here to see various Customs duties applicable in Jamaica.

No. An import or export license is not compulsory for many commodities. However, there are specific types of goods that require an import/export permit before transactions.

As a member of the World Trade Organization Jamaica has to follow the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. There are three types of technical barriers:

• Technical Regulations are mandatory technical requirements for importers and exporters (mandatory compliance requirement).

• Technical Standards are the technical requirements to be approved by an organization that has been recognized; and

• Conformity Assessment Procedure This is the process of assessing the suitability of a commodity with the regulations and technical criteria.

Yes. Using a Customs Agent should ensure that all regulatory requirements are properly discharged and may save unnecessary delays. Customs brokers and customs broker employees shall exercise the rights and perform the obligations of customs declarants as prescribed in the Customs Act.

You must clear the goods at the Customs office where the Customs authorities receive, register and verify customs documents and conduct a physical inspection of goods. Places of inspection are at the international airports, seaports, and Inland Customs Depots where import, export, exit, entry and transit operation are carried out.

ASYCUDA (AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR CUSTOMS DATA) is the Jamaica Automatic Customs Clearance System. If you are importing and exporting goods through the ports and airports you must enter your e-Declaration into the ASYCUDA system.

Yes. All goods and vehicles for diplomatic missions approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are exempted from Customs duty. 

No. You can just walk through the Nothing to Declare - Green Channel. If you are carrying goods in excess of the duty-free allowance or if you are in doubt you must walk through the Red Channel and declare the goods to the Customs Officer on duty. At some airports, you can see Green and Red flashlights, which represent Green and Red Channels. If you are in doubt about this, please ask Customs officers at the airports. 

Generally, personal effects (except for motor vehicles/cars etc.) are exempted from Customs duties as long as they are not of a commercial nature and within the prescribed limit decided by Customs. If you are in doubt about the eligibility of certain items, you should contact Customs. Generally, holders of residence visas receive equal treatment as far as the free allowance entitlements are concerned.

For more information, you can visit the following agencies: