What it costs to import a Toyota Hilux to Jamaica

The Hilux is the double-cab pickup of choice for contractors and farms, and it is the vehicle where the rate sheet punishes a guess most severely. Pickups are banded by unladen weight, and the three bands carry very different SCT rates.

The band it lands in

A diesel pickup between 1,851 and 2,200 kg unladen pays 20% import duty, 3% SCT and 20% GCT, an aggregate of 48.8%. Under 1,851 kg the SCT is zero and the aggregate is 44.5%. Over 2,200 kg the SCT jumps to 23% and the aggregate to 77.6%. A double-cab Hilux sits close to the upper line, so the exact unladen weight on the export certificate can move the bill by a quarter of the CIF.

What a Toyota Hilux costs to clear

The table prices a 2019 Toyota Hilux 2.8 L diesel pickup at an example CIF of US$22,500 to Kingston, converted at today’s Bank of Jamaica selling rate of J$158.88 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$1,814,217, which is 50.8% of the CIF value. Add the vehicle price itself and the landed cost is J$5,389,017 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$19,125 CIF, the customs charges are J$1,552,435 and the landed cost is J$4,591,015.
• At US$22,500 CIF, the customs charges are J$1,814,217 and the landed cost is J$5,389,017.
• At US$25,875 CIF, the customs charges are J$2,076,000 and the landed cost is J$6,187,020.

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 petrol version of the same band pays 10% SCT instead of 3%, an aggregate of 58.9%, and a petrol pickup over 2,200 kg pays 30% SCT. Diesel is cheaper to clear in every pickup band. Pickups over 1,500 kg also enjoy a ten-year age limit, which is why a 2019 Hilux is still importable when a 2019 car is not for much longer.

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 “Diesel · Pickup 1,851–2,200 kg unladen weight” 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.