Co-Chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Mr. Richard Byles, has credited improved tax compliance measures for tax revenues surpassing the budget for the second month in October. At his monthly press briefing, held at the Sagicor Life Jamaica head office, in New Kingston, today (December 10), Mr. Byles said revenues for the first seven months of the fiscal...

The Jamaica Customs Agency says it has surpassed its revenue target for the period April 1 to November 30. Commissioner of Customs, Major (Ret’d) Richard Reese, said collections amounted to $119.26 billion for the period, surpassing the $105.2 billion target set by the Ministry of Finance and Planning by $14.07 billion or 13 per cent. He was speaking at a...

The Jamaica Customs Agency says it is in a full state of readiness to handle the expected increase in cargo shipments during the festive season. Senior Director of the entity’s Kingston operations, Selina Clarke-Graham, said the agency is already seeing an uptick in the volume of imported items and measures have been implemented to facilitate the clearance of goods. “We...

Customers registering businesses and companies with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) will continue to experience longer processing time as the Agency’s express services remain suspended beyond the previously stated date of December 7, 2015. Persons registering companies and businesses will experience a seven and five day turnaround time, respectively. The Agency’s express and guaranteed service times are expected to...

The Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is transitioning into phase two of its Revenue Administration Information Service (RAiS), which will be rolled out on December 7. As a result, the TAJ is advising that until December 6, some of its services will either be suspended or limited. Director of Communications at the TAJ, Meris Haughton, said these services include the processing...

The country’s Net International Reserves (NIR) as at the end of October 2015 stood at US$2.9 billion, putting the country in a better position to withstand external shocks. Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, who made the disclosure at  the 9th staging of the dialogue for development lecture 2015, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, in downtown Kingston, Wednesday, November  25, noted that the NIR in...

Though her facial expression belied her emotions, Senior Director for the Planning and Development Division of the Ministry of Education, Barbara Annette Allen, deemed it an honour to be named 2015/16 Civil Servant of the Year. Ms. Allen, who has served the Ministry of Education for over 30 years, topped a field of four nominees, during the official launch of...