How this estimate is built
Jamaica Customs values an imported vehicle at its CIF price, the cost of the vehicle plus insurance plus freight to Kingston, converted to Jamaican dollars at the Bank of Jamaica rate on the day of clearance. The calculator starts from today’s BOJ selling rate and lets you type your own over it, because the rate on clearance day is not knowable in advance and a dealer may have quoted you one already. If your price is FOB rather than CIF, switch the mode and the calculator adds freight and insurance to the value the way customs would.
Five charges then stack on that value, and the order matters. Import duty is charged on CIF. Special consumption tax is charged on CIF plus import duty. GCT is charged on CIF plus duty plus SCT, at the 20% motor vehicle rate rather than the 15% standard rate. The 0.5% environmental levy is charged on CIF alone, and the Customs Administrative Fee is a flat J$66,000 for a new vehicle or J$69,000 for a used one. Because each tax is assessed on the running total, the aggregate rate is higher than the three percentages add up to: a 1.5 litre petrol car with 20% duty, 10% SCT and 20% GCT pays 58.9% of CIF, not 50%. The compounding guide works through it line by line.
What sets the band
The vehicle type, fuel and engine size or weight pick the row on the Jamaica Customs Agency dealer rate sheet, revised 1 April 2020. Cars are banded by engine displacement, with lines at 1,000, 2,000 and 3,500 cc for petrol and extra lines for diesel. Pickups, vans and trucks are banded by unladen weight. A hybrid keeps its body type’s duty but pays no SCT, and an electric vehicle pays 10% duty when it is three years or less since manufacture, 30% after, with no SCT and no GCT. Customs assigns the band on what the export certificate says, so enter the displacement and weight from the certificate rather than a rounded figure in a listing. Every band is listed on the rate table.
Who these rates apply to
These are the rates charged on vehicles imported by licensed dealers, including special imports a dealer sources on your behalf, which is how most vehicles now enter Jamaica. If you hold your own Trade Board licence and import in your own name, ask your broker whether the individual rate sheet applies instead. Public sector travelling officers with the Ministry of Finance 20% duty concession can tick the concession box and see the entry priced both ways.
What the estimate leaves out
Government charges only. You will also pay a licensed customs broker, wharfage and port handling, trucking from the wharf, registration, licensing and a fitness certificate, motor insurance, and on a dealer import the dealer’s own fee. None of those has a published tariff, so get written quotes and read costs beyond customs for what to expect. For the whole process in order, from checking the age limit to driving off the wharf, read the import guide.