What it costs to import a Suzuki Swift to Jamaica

The Swift is Suzuki’s small five-door hatchback, light and simple, with a 1.2 litre petrol engine in its most common Japanese trim. It competes with the Fit and the Yaris for buyers who want a cheap, economical first car, and it is usually a little cheaper to buy than either.

The band it lands in

The 1.2 litre engine puts the Swift above the 1,000 cc line, in the 1,001 to 2,000 cc petrol band: 20% import duty, 10% SCT and 20% GCT, an aggregate of 58.9%. The same band runs all the way to 2,000 cc, so the Swift pays the same rate as a 2.0 litre car; what keeps its bill small is its price, not its engine.

What a Suzuki Swift costs to clear

The table prices a 2021 Suzuki Swift 1.2 L petrol at an example CIF of US$8,600 to Kingston, converted at Bank of Jamaica’s selling rate for 16 Oct 2026 of J$159.18 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$875,310, which is 63.9% of the CIF value. Add the vehicle price itself and the landed cost is J$2,244,258 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$7,310 CIF, the customs charges are J$754,364 and the landed cost is J$1,917,970.
• At US$8,600 CIF, the customs charges are J$875,310 and the landed cost is J$2,244,258.
• At US$9,890 CIF, the customs charges are J$996,257 and the landed cost is J$2,570,547.

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

The car to compare it with is a 1.0 litre petrol hatchback such as the Yaris, which falls in the lowest petrol band at 44.5%, 14.4% of CIF less. Some Swifts are sold in Japan with a mild hybrid system. Whether customs accepts one as a hybrid, and charges the hybrid rate of 44.5%, depends on how the export certificate and the entry describe it, so confirm that with your broker before you pay for a hybrid on the strength of the badge.

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.