Paperless Licensing Regime at Trade Board June 1

As of tomorrow (June 1), importers doing business with the Trade Board will start benefiting from its paperless licensing regime.
Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Phillip Paulwell made the announcement at a press briefing held on (May 30), at the Constant Spring Road offices of the Trade Board.
“This new system .is geared towards providing clients with a greater level of efficiency, as they now have 24-hour online access to motor vehicle and import licensing services,” Mr. Paulwell told journalists and trade sector stakeholders.
Stressing the ease and convenience that the new regime will afford clients who previously had to endure long lines and make several trips for the printed documents, Mr. Paulwell informed that clients “can now simply apply and pay for import licences online at any time, on any day using the Trade Board Information System (TBIS).”
He said clients using the system could make note of a reference/permit number which they could input on the respective import entry, once approval, which would be communicated via e-mail or text message, has been granted.
“You don’t have to join any line waiting for your documents to be processed. Those are things of the past. This system revolutionizes the way motor vehicle importers interact with the Trade Board, creating increased expediency and efficiency,” Mr. Paulwell noted.
“Now, you can stay at your home or office and in a relatively short time have your required documents,” he added.
Mr. Paulwell stated that with the implementation of this system, information submitted online would be exchanged electronically between the relevant Government agencies, “thus relieving the client of having to re-submit the same information to the various agencies in order to complete the process.”
The TBIS managers have informed JIS News that this feature would also reduce the possibility of fraud.The system is being implemented in two modules – the import module for import licences and an export module for export licences and certificates of origin, integrating the Jamaica Customs system.
“Some licences will still require physical visits for supporting documents. But this is for certain specified visits,” Mr. Paulwell said.
The new paperless regime is a result of a successful pilot involving the Trade Board’s larger clients, that was launched in November 2006. It is part of a planned move by government to utilize Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the delivery of public sector services, which are still largely paper-based, the Minister said.
“We have changed that situation and implemented, from as early as 2004, the import module of its Trade Board Information System,” he pointed out.
The TBIS is an online system that forms part of the Jamaica Trade Point, the Jamaican government initiative to enable an e-government and an e-commerce society, aimed at eliminating barriers to trade to foster a commerce competitive environment. It was implemented to improve the efficiency of the import/export process.
Some 20,000 import licences are processed each year by dealers. Clients can access the online facility at www.tradeboard.gov.jm.