What it costs to import a Toyota Yaris to Jamaica

In Japan the small Toyota hatchback was badged Vitz until 2020 and Yaris after it. The entry engine is a three-cylinder 1.0 litre, and that engine is the reason the car appears here: it sits in the lowest petrol band on the dealer sheet.

The band it lands in

A petrol car of 1,000 cc and below pays 20% import duty, no SCT and 20% GCT, an aggregate of 44.5%. That is the same aggregate a hybrid pays, without the hybrid price premium. Toyota’s 1.0 litre engine is 996 cc, so it clears the 1,000 cc line with a few cubic centimetres to spare.

What a Toyota Yaris costs to clear

The table prices a 2021 Toyota Yaris 1.0 L petrol at an example CIF of US$8,500 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$669,964, which is 49.6% of the CIF value. Add the vehicle price itself and the landed cost is J$2,020,444 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$7,225 CIF, the customs charges are J$579,819 and the landed cost is J$1,727,727.
• At US$8,500 CIF, the customs charges are J$669,964 and the landed cost is J$2,020,444.
• At US$9,775 CIF, the customs charges are J$760,108 and the landed cost is J$2,313,160.

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 1.5 litre petrol Yaris is a different proposition. It crosses into the 1,001 to 2,000 cc band and pays 58.9%, so the extra engine costs you about 14 points of CIF at the wharf on top of its higher price. The 1.5 litre Yaris hybrid, on the other hand, is back at 44.5%. If you want the bigger engine, the hybrid is the version to import. Check the engine displacement on the export certificate rather than the listing title, because customs will.

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 · 1,000 cc and below” 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.