What it costs to import a Mazda Demio to Jamaica

The Demio is Mazda’s small hatchback, renamed Mazda2 in Japan in 2019, so a car inside today’s age limit will usually be listed under the newer name. Exporters offer it with a 1.5 litre petrol engine and, less often, a 1.5 litre diesel, and the two clear at noticeably different rates.

The band it lands in

The 1.5 litre petrol car sits in the 1,001 to 2,000 cc petrol band at 20% import duty, 10% SCT and 20% GCT, an aggregate of 58.9%. Diesel cars of the same size have their own row on the dealer sheet, with SCT of 3% rather than 10%.

What a Mazda Demio costs to clear

The table prices a 2021 Mazda Demio 1.5 L petrol at an example CIF of US$8,900 to Kingston, converted at today’s Bank of Jamaica selling rate of J$159.75 per US$1. Each line is calculated the way Jamaica Customs assesses it: import duty on CIF, SCT on CIF plus duty, GCT on the total of all three, then the 0.5% environmental levy on CIF and the flat customs administrative fee for a used vehicle.

On these figures the customs charges alone come to J$906,425, which is 63.8% of the CIF value. Add the vehicle price itself and the landed cost is J$2,328,200 before the broker, the wharf and the registration office have been paid.

How the bill moves with the price

Every charge except the customs fee is a percentage of CIF, so the bill moves almost in step with the price you pay. The same vehicle at 15% less and 15% more than the example price:

• At US$7,565 CIF, the customs charges are J$780,812 and the landed cost is J$1,989,320.
• At US$8,900 CIF, the customs charges are J$906,425 and the landed cost is J$2,328,200.
• At US$10,235 CIF, the customs charges are J$1,032,039 and the landed cost is J$2,667,081.

The exchange rate works the same way. Customs converts CIF at the Bank of Jamaica rate on the day of clearance, not the day you paid the exporter, so a rate that moves one dollar between purchase and clearance moves this bill by about 0.6% of the J$ total. The exchange rate guide explains how to budget for that.

The alternative worth pricing

That makes the diesel Demio one of the few small cars where diesel pays less at the wharf: 48.8% against 58.9%, a saving of 10.1% of CIF. A diesel listing often costs more to buy, so price both in the calculator at their actual prices. Weigh the running costs too: diesel is priced differently at the pump, and a small diesel engine wants regular, longer drives to stay healthy.

What this estimate leaves out

The figures above are the government charges and nothing else. Before the vehicle is yours to drive you will also pay a licensed customs broker to prepare and lodge the entry, wharfage and handling at the port, trucking from the wharf, then registration, licensing and a fitness certificate at the Tax Administration and Island Traffic Authority offices, and motor insurance. If you import through a dealer, the dealer’s own fee sits on top. None of these has a published tariff, so ask for a written quote and read the costs beyond customs guide for what to expect.

Check before you pay a deposit

• The year of manufacture is inside the Trade Board age limit for the category, counted at the time of import, not the time of purchase.
• The engine displacement, fuel type and unladen weight on the export certificate match the listing. Customs bands on the certificate.
• The price is CIF to Kingston. If it is FOB, add freight and insurance before you run the numbers, or switch the calculator to FOB and let it add them.
• The vehicle has a pre-shipment inspection certificate and is not described as accident-repaired, flood-damaged or salvaged.

The band this page uses is “Petrol · Exceeding 1,000 cc, not exceeding 2,000 cc” on the dealer sheet revised 1 April 2020. Rates change by ministerial order, so if a newer sheet has been published since, your broker will assess on that one.