Business opportunities
The Opportunities Online website may be a useful addition to your information sources. The database established by Austrade aims to deliver international sales leads ('export opportunities'), including tenders, generated by our overseas network to Australian businesses.
Registering is simple and once this is done you will have the option of accessing a weekly newsletter featuring the most recent opportunities uploaded onto the system in industry sectors of interest to you. Another feature is the ability to view, and also print, the complete page of opportunity details.
For general inquiries concerning Austrade’s services, please contact Austrade Direct on 13 28 78.
Business etiquette
Please note: Bribery of foreign public officials is a crime. Australian individuals and companies can be prosecuted in Australia for bribing foreign officials when overseas. For more information, go to the Attorney General's Department on foreign bribery.
Tariffs and regulations
Import restrictions
Most goods may be freely imported. Specific import licences, issued by the Trade Administrator, are required for a limited range of items. These include motor vehicles, specific chemicals, onions, prepared or preserved tomatoes and pharmaceuticals. The Minister of Industry and Commerce is responsible for the administration of Jamaican import regulations.
The import of specific foodstuffs and motor vehicles are the monopoly of the Jamaica Commodity Trading Corporation (JCTC). Imports are subjects to customs tariff in compliance with CARICOM, which is the Caribbean Common Market.
A range of goods are prohibited including most fruits and vegetables, grains and seeds.
Most restrictions on foreign currency exchange have been lifted. Exchange control approval from the Bank of Jamaica is still required for payments in excess of US$2000, but permission is generally granted.
Tariff
Single-column tariff based on the Harmonised System. Duties are ad valorem (%) assessed on the CIF value. Rates generally range from five per cent to 20 per cent with higher rates applied to certain 'non-basic' and finished goods. Exceptions to this duty structure are:
- Basic food items imported by the JCTC, which are sold at subsidised prices.
- Specific agricultural products which are protected by a combination of duties and stamp taxes ranging up to 30 per cent.
- Jamaica is a member of the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM), which admits imports sourced in other member countries duty free.
Customs authority contact details:
Commissioner of Customs and Excise
Customs and Excise Department
PO Box 466
Kingston 15
Tel: +1 809 922 3828
Fax: +1 809 922 7110
Packing, marking and labelling
No specific packing requirements except that materials likely to carry disease must not be used. Packing should be secure and guard against extreme heat in summer, humidity in winter and possible storage in the open.
If duty-free and dutiable goods are included in the same package, the entire contents will be subjected to the dutiable rate.
Medicaments of any kind are prohibited unless the formula or composition (including the name and quantity of each ingredient used) is clearly printed on the container in English, French or Spanish.
For shelf goods especially, attractive cartons and labels, with a clear indication of contents, are recommended.
Weights and measures
British and metric systems are used.
Insurance
Normal commercial practice.
Methods of quoting and payment
Quotations should be in Australian dollars CIF. Payment is usually by sight draft.
Public health requirements
A wide range of unprocessed plant products (including fresh fruit and vegetables) are restricted entry.
Permitted foodstuffs are subject to inspection on arrival.
Wheat flour must be enriched with specified proportions of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and iron.
Alcohol (eg. ethyl, methyl and propyl) exceeding 50 per cent of alcohol by weight (but not including tinctures of the British and US Pharmacopoeia, and perfumes) and coffee, are prohibited.
Drugs and medicaments require the prior approval of the Food and Drug Board.
Quarantine, health and similar regulations are subject to frequent change and exporters should therefore be guided by importers.
Documentation
Fax signatures not acceptable.
Commercial invoice
No prescribed form. Use of the aligned format devised by the Economic Commission for Europe is highly recommended. Original and five copies are required.
The invoice must indicate a full description of the shipment including:
- Name and address of seller and consignee along with customer order number
- Complete transportation details including port of lading and name of vessel
- A complete description of the weight, marks
- Terms and conditions of payment and delivery
- The name of the bank handling the transaction and the currency of sale
- The country of origin of the goods
It must also bear the following endorsed declaration: 'It is hereby certified that this invoice shows the actual price of the goods described, that no other invoice has been or will be issued and that all particulars are true and correct.' Signature and status of authorised member of firm. Certification by an approved authority (see 'Guidelines', Section 2.3) is also required.
Bill of lading
Normal commercial practice. 'To Order' bills acceptable.
Packing list
Not mandatory, but facilitates customs clearance.
Certificate of insurance
Normal commercial practice.
Certificate of origin
Not generally required, although sometimes requested, in which case importer's instructions should be followed.
Special certificates
Livestock, plants and fresh vegetables must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by an approved authority in the country of origin; in Australia this is usually the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry-Australia, or the relevant state department of agriculture.
Second-hand clothing, and second-hand boots and shoes are not permitted unless accompanied by a certificate of disinfection issued by the health authorities in the country of origin.
Spirits may need a certificate of maturity.
Taxation
A general consumption tax of 10 per cent has replaced most other taxes. It is levied on almost all consumer items and services. |