GCT and SCT Removed from Armoured Vehicles

The Government has taken the decision to remove the General Consumption Tax (GCT) and Special Consumption Tax (SCT) from armoured vehicles and the added cost of armouring a vehicle.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, said this is in an effort to facilitate investment in assets that are purpose-built for the transportation of cash and other values.

The Minister was speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 25), as debate on the General Consumption Tax (Amendment of Schedules) Order, 2025, commenced.

Mrs. Williams noted that the numerous gun attacks, ambush and robbery attempts on the armoured cash courier industry has negatively impacted the private security industry.

“These attacks have impacted the companies providing cash courier services by significantly increasing their operational risk and exposing front-line officers to harm. The attacks have also had a negative effect on the routine servicing of automated banking machines, hampering the delivery of cash to the general public,” she added.

The measures being proposed under the Order are aimed at bolstering the private security industry amidst the increase in targeted attacks on entities providing armoured cash courier services, in addition to ensuring compliance with Jamaica’s international trade obligations.

Mrs. Williams said the first measure revises the tax structure for the importation of armoured cash courier vehicles.

“The second schedule of the GCT Act has been amended to enable armoured vehicles to be subject to special consumption tax (SCT) at a rate of zero per cent. This will apply to armoured vehicles with a cost insurance and freight (CIF) value in excess of US$33,000 to be utilised in providing an armoured cash courier service and the added cost of armouring a vehicle, that is, to render the vehicle fit for use as an armoured vehicle for the specific use as an approved cash courier,” the Minister explained.

She further noted that Part 1 of the third schedule is being amended to exempt from GCT payment armoured vehicles with a CIF value in excess of US$33,000 to be utilised in providing armoured cash courier services.

Second, the amendment will also exempt the added cost of armouring a vehicle to render it fit for use as an armoured vehicle, imported for the specific use of providing armoured cash courier services.

“The measure is intended to be temporary, and as such, the effective period for the relief is between April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026. It is, therefore, being encouraged that entities engaged in the cash courier service utilise this period of GCT and SCT relief to upgrade their fleet and invest in purpose-built vehicles,” Mrs. Williams said.

The second measure addressed by the Order is the standardising of Jamaica’s GCT treatment on raw foodstuff.

Mrs. Williams explained that by virtue of Jamaica’s membership to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the country is not allowed to implement internal tax measures designed to protect domestically produced products.

She said the utilisation of GCT, which is an internal tax currently charged on imported raw foodstuff but not on locally produced raw foodstuff, could be interpreted as a measure that gives protection to domestically produced raw foodstuff.

“This is considered an uncompetitive practice from the perspective of international trade and Jamaica risks, at the very least, jeopardising the relationships with its trading partners,” Mrs. Williams said.

“In light of this, we are amending the third schedule of the GCT Act to equalise the tax treatment for both domestically produced and imported raw foodstuff. Therefore, both domestically produced and imported raw foodstuff will now be exempt from the payment of GCT,” she added.

This amendment applies generally to the following items – fresh fruit and vegetables, ground provisions, legumes, onions and garlic, meat, chicken, fish, crustacean or mullet and corn.

“It should be noted that items previously not considered raw food and subject to GCT will continue to remain subject to the tax. Although we are removing the GCT on imported raw foodstuff, this Honourable house should note that the items in question still attract taxes, primarily common external tariff (CET) and additional stamp duty,” Mrs. Williams said.

She added that the removal of the GCT on imported raw foodstuff preserves the country’s international trading relationships by removing the risk that Jamaica will face trade sanctions from other Member States as a result of the discriminatory treatment applied to imported raw foodstuff.

For his part, Opposition Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, said on the first measure, the Opposition has no objection to it.

“We recognise the importance of cash in our society, and we are fully aware of the number of incidents where cash courier companies have been attacked, people have been killed and the impact that that has had on the ability of banks to restart their ATM (Automated Teller Machine) and ensure that there is adequate cash,” Mr. Robinson said.

“So, any measure which facilitates those companies having more armoured trucks is certainly something that we would support, and we do. On the second measure, we do have concerns about the removal of GCT on imported raw food items,” he added.

He pointed out that the removal of GCT on imported raw food items has the potential to negatively impact the local agricultural sector.

In her response, Mrs. Williams said when Jamaica’s trade policy was being reviewed by the WTO, the United Kingdom and the European Union “asked that we correct all measures inconsistent with our WTO obligations, and this happened in 2024”.

She further asked for the suspension of the debate to facilitate discussions on the matter.