Manufacturing in Jamaica > Incentives

Customs User Fee

 

As at July 1, 2008, manufacturers will be allowed to claim the CUF paid on capital goods as tax credit in the following year of assessment.

 

General Consumption Tax

 

Under the GCT Act, GCT paid on items that are not exempt from GCT can be set off as input tax credit at the end of the return period. GCT paid on vehicles can be claimed back as input tax over twenty-four (24) months.

Government of Jamaica Research and Development Tax Incentives Scheme 

To stimulate activity in research and development, the Government of Jamaica has amended the Customs Act and the General Consumption Tax Act to allow approved research and development projects to qualify for an exemption of GCT and customs duty on equipment and materials. 

This Tax Incentives Scheme is administered through the Secretariat of the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) and may be accessed by organisations or individuals. For more information visit www.ncts.gov.jm.

Incentives

RequirementsConcessionsAccess
Modernization of Industry (MOI) Programme Must be a manufacturer     Waiving of GCT chargeable on the acquisition of machinery and equipment directly related to the manufacturing process.  
  • Completed forms submitted to Jamaica Trade & Invest's Contact Centre
  • Site visit
  • J$3,000.00 
Customs User Fee WaiverMust be a manufacturer Must apply within three years of commencing manufacturing Waiving of the Customs User Fee on capital equipment and raw material for the first three years of operation of the entity.
  • Jamaica Trade & Invest's approval letter renewable every year for the three years under consideration 
  • Supporting documents
  • J$5,000.00
Accelerated Depreciation/Special Capital AllowanceMake an application to Jamaica Trade & Invest for subsequent certification of the company by the Ministry of Industry, Investment and CommerceWriting off of the cost of new capital equipment within a two-year period. (Special allowance on capital expenditure for 50% of full cost in the year of purchase and the remaining 50% the following year).
  • Jamaica Trade & Invest site visit (done by the Business Facilitation Department)
  • Certification by Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce
  • J$4,000.00
Export Industry Encouragement Act
Designed to encourage export manufacturing to hard currency (non-CARICOM markets).		Can be a full exporter(exporting 100% of manufactured goods)Can be a partial exporter
(exporting a threshold of 5% of manufactured goods) 		Exemption from income tax for ten years and import duties on raw material and machinery for ten years as wellGranting of import tax rebate according to percentage of export profits to total profits.
  • Application forms available from  Jamaica Trade & Invest
  • Supporting documents to be forwarded to Ministry of Tourism
N.B.
For new exporters the rebate is calculated based on the percentage of export sales to total salesFor existing exporters the rebate is calculated based on incremental export sales over a base year.The Act has been amended to provide benefits where incremental exports to non-CARICOM countries are in excess of 5% of total exports.
Approved Farmer Status Must be deemed a ‘prescribed’ agricultural activity:
  • Food crops
  • Seed growing
  • Trees for timber
  • Growing of tobacco
  • Horticulture
  • Fishing and fish farming
  • Breeding of beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, goats & pigs
  • Production of fertile eggs for hatching
  • Production of table eggs
  • Breeding of horses
 		Exemption from:
  • Income tax for 10 years
  • GCT for 10 years on capital equipment
  • CET and stamp duties on raw material imports
20% duty on importation of vehicles:
  • Panel vans and pick-ups (not exceeding 2 tons)
  • Trucks (exceeding 2 tons)
  • Tractor heads and tractors
  • Application forms available from Jamaica Trade & Invest
  • Apply through parish RADA office
    
Jamaica Export Free Zone Act
(Includes manufacturers and service providers)NB. Time bound by WTO rules – Dec. 2006
  • Company must be incorporated under the Companies Act.
  • All transactions must be in US currency.
  • Factories must be located in free zone area.

Single Entity Free Zone Status Exemption where the firm may benefit outside of the free zone area
  • Company must be registered according to the provisions of the Companies Act
  • Export at least 85% of production
  • Approval from Bank of Jamaica
Exemption from:
  • Income tax on profits in perpetuity
  • Import duty and licensing fee in perpetuity
Repatriation of foreign exchange without any form of recourse on the part of the government.		Application forms available from Jamaica Trade & Invest  to be forwarded to Free Zone Council  
Factory Construction Law Companies must construct factories and lease or sell them to producersExemption from:
  • Import duties (for items not available locally)
  • Income tax on income from factory leasing or gains made from sales.
Cabinet submission
 (Source: Jamaica Trade and Invest)  

 

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