Know what it costs to buy, ship and clear.

Charges compound the way Jamaica Customs assesses them: import duty is charged on the CIF value, special consumption tax on CIF plus import duty, and GCT on the total of all three. We then add the 0.5% environmental levy and the flat Customs Administrative Fee, J$66,000 for a new vehicle or J$69,000 for a used one. Every rate comes from the published JCA dealer rate sheet, revised 1 April 2020. You can browse every band on the rate table.

Most vehicles now enter Jamaica through a licensed dealer, either from the dealer's own stock or as a special import the dealer sources for you. Customs assesses those entries on the dealer sheet, so that is what Clearie prices with. If you hold your own Trade Board licence and import in your own name, ask your broker which rates apply before relying on these figures.

CIF is the Cost of the vehicle plus Insurance plus Freight, the value customs actually taxes. Customs converts it to Jamaican dollars using the Bank of Jamaica exchange rate on the day of clearance, so Clearie starts from BOJ's rate for today and lets you type your own over it — useful when your dealer has quoted you one. If you don't have an insurance figure, a common practice is about 1.5% of price plus freight, which is what we assume when the field is left blank.

The Trade Board sets age limits by category. Cars, station wagons and SUVs can be up to six years old, motorcycles up to five, and light pickups up to six. Vans, larger pickups and small trucks get ten years, and returning residents may import a vehicle up to ten years old. The full table is in the import guide, and the source is the Trade Board age-limit policy.