The All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November 2024 was 141.9, reflecting an inflation rate of 1.0 per cent as released today by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The main contributor was a 2.1 per cent rise in the index for the division ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’, influenced mainly by a 5.7 per cent increase in the index of...

Motor vehicle importers are being urged to ensure that applications for motor vehicle import permits submitted through the Jamaica Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) platform are complete and accurate. JSWIFT, managed by the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA), is a fully digital platform designed to simplify and expedite the import permit process. By providing 24-hour access and integration with critical government...

Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) Chairman, Keith Duncan, is proposing that the Government reintroduce a fiscal rule that caps public sector wages as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Speaking during the final EPOC quarterly press briefing at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service on Friday (December 13), Mr. Duncan said this recommendation comes against the background...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, says the Ministry is committed to putting additional resources in place to ensure timely submission of appropriations accounts to the Auditor General. She was addressing Wednesday’s (Dec. 11) post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, in response to a recent report that government funds, totalling $3 trillion, have been unaccounted...

The Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA) is looking at the implementation of an instant payment system that will allow for the transfer of funds in near real time from one bank to another bank, regardless of the hour of the day. This was disclosed by Deputy Governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) with responsibility for the Financial Institutions Supervisory Division,...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) has announced that two additional rounds of payments are scheduled for eligible applicants under the Government’s Reverse Income Tax Credit (RITC) programme. The programme, which facilitates the provision of $20,000 to persons earning under $3 million, has seen two tranches of payments disbursed so far – one at the end of October and the other during...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Zavia Mayne (right), presents the Finance Minister's award to the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) at the Public Bodies Corporate Governance Awards ceremony on Wednesday (December 4) at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. Accepting the award (from left) are Managing Director, Dr. Donald Farquharson; Board...