Faster release of new motor vehicles by JCA takes effect today

Effective today (Monday June 22), the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) will allow new motor vehicles imported by authorised new car dealers to be released immediately.

Previously, vehicles required mandatory verification before they could be removed from the port, but will now undergo post-clearance verification through enhancements to the JCA’s Trade Facilitation Programme. This update is designed to speed up port processes and increase productivity.

In a statement on the weekend, the JCA said the change followed the ongoing assessment of new motor vehicles imported by authorised new car dealers, which has been determined to be low risk. As such, vehicles imported by authorised dealers will be released immediately without mandatory physical verification at the port.

New car dealers highly compliant 

This new move is being done because authorised new car dealers have a highly compliant and low-risk profile and so this shift is aimed at reducing port congestion, time, and costs. Finance Minister, Fayval Williams, noted that this update is part of the Government’s commitment to improving efficiency and the ease of doing business in Jamaica and is part of the Government’s productivity objective, geared toward increasing efficiency.

She said this enhanced measure will accelerate the clearance process and create a more reliable environment for legitimate businesses in the sector to operate and grow.  For his part, Acting JCA CEO, Kirk Benjamin, commented that the previous system added unnecessary time and cost to a category of imports that carried minimal risk.

According to him, “for years, new motor vehicles imported by authorised dealers had to be physically verified before they could leave the port. This change will reduce time, cost and congestion at our ports of entry,” reiterating that the change is an expansion of its Trade Facilitation Programme rather than a one-off adjustment.

For Benjamin, “these vehicles come from a small group of authorised dealers, in high volumes, with a high level of compliance, and they present a very low risk profile. That combination makes them an ideal fit for post-clearance verification,” adding that resources previously assigned to complete physical inspections can now be redirected elsewhere.