Amnesty Begins for Delinquent Motorists

Delinquent motorists now have the opportunity to pay the fines on outstanding traffic tickets without incurring a penalty or interest.

The three-month amnesty, which started yesterday (August 2), ends on October 31.

The amnesty has been provided under the Road Traffic (Temporary Ticket Amnesty) Bill, which was passed in both Houses of Parliament.

It will affect tickets issued from September 1, 2010 to July 31, 2017.

In an interview with JIS News, Commanding Officer of the Highway and Traffic Division, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Calvin Allen, said an amnesty call centre has been established, with over 25 persons trained to serve persons in this area.

“Over 600 calls have been received at the call centre as at 2:30 p.m. and the interactions have been very good. Over 130 persons have physically visited area traffic headquarters, both in terms of picking up printouts and to make queries of their own,” SSP Allen said.

He pointed out that if persons are unable to pay the entire amount due, they can do so in tranches within the requisite period.

“All that we encourage people to do is to keep safely your receipt upon payment, because that is what you are going to use to show as it relates to queries of any sort that may come at you,” SSP Allen said.

Speaking recently in the House of Representatives, Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague, said data shows that the outstanding traffic tickets in the courts total $2.283 billion.

Additionally, the records of the Inland Revenue Department indicate that there is $565.92 million in outstanding tickets as at December 31, 2016.

Meanwhile, Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is advising motorists that its systems have been updated to facilitate payments for outstanding traffic tickets, dating back to September 2010.

Payments can be made online via jamaicatax.gov.jm, using a credit card, once the traffic ticket number is reflected.

Additionally, persons may visit any tax office islandwide to make payments by presenting their traffic ticket or by providing the ticket number for easy processing.

Persons seeking information on the amnesty or to make queries on outstanding tickets can call the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s specially arranged Traffic Ticket Amnesty Call Centre at 948-0411, Mondays to Fridays, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.