What it costs to import a Toyota Townace to Jamaica

The Townace van, also sold as the Liteace, is a small, cab-over panel van with a 1.5 litre petrol engine, used in Jamaica for deliveries, trades and small shops. Because it is a van, customs bands it by unladen weight rather than engine size, and the Trade Board allows a panel van to be up to ten years old rather than the six years a car gets.

The band it lands in

A petrol panel van not exceeding 2,032 kg unladen pays 10% import duty, 15% SCT and 20% GCT, an aggregate of 52.3%. The Townace is far below that weight line, so there is no question which band it falls in. The heavier band, over 2,032 kg, pays no SCT and comes to 32.5%, but that is for full-size vans like the Hiace, not this one.

What a Toyota Townace costs to clear

The table prices a 2020 Toyota Townace 1.5 L petrol panel van at an example CIF of US$11,500 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$1,029,816, which is 56.1% of the CIF value. Add the vehicle price itself and the landed cost is J$2,866,941 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$9,775 CIF, the customs charges are J$885,694 and the landed cost is J$2,447,250.
• At US$11,500 CIF, the customs charges are J$1,029,816 and the landed cost is J$2,866,941.
• At US$13,225 CIF, the customs charges are J$1,173,939 and the landed cost is J$3,286,633.

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 obvious alternative is the Probox, a 1.5 litre wagon that does much the same work. The Probox is a car to customs, banded on engine size at 58.9%, so on the same CIF the Townace saves 6.6% of CIF and can be four years older. The Probox hybrid turns that round: at 44.5% it clears for 7.8% of CIF less than the Townace. Whichever you choose, the unladen weight and body type on the export certificate are what customs will band on.

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 · Panel / window vans not exceeding 2,032 kg” 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.