Motor Vehicle Import Policy Amended

Cabinet on Monday (April 7) approved amendments to the 2014 Motor Vehicle Import Policy as it relates to public passenger vehicles (PPVs).

Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, made the disclosure during a post-Cabinet press briefing, held on April 9 at Jamaica House.

Mr. Vaz said for the public passenger transport sector, imported vehicles with seating capacity not exceeding eight persons must not be older than 10 years, up from eight years.

Imported vehicles with seating capacity between 12 and 15 persons must not be older than 15 years and imported vehicles with seating capacity between 26 and 32 seats must not be older than 15 years.

“The average age of the public transportation vehicles that we see on the road with the red plates is 15 years old. So, they are aged, they are not fuel-efficient, they have been on the roads for many years, and they are not giving the comfort and efficiency to the commuters,” Mr. Vaz said.

“We had imposed a policy in 2019 where we had made amendments specifically for the public transportation sector. For whatever reason, the full benefit did not reach to the taxi operator, because he would either have to go to the dealer and buy them at a higher markup or whatever it was. So, in doing this, I took into consideration the advice from the public transportation steering committee, which I formed when I became Minister in 2023,” he added.

Mr. Vaz explained that the public passenger vehicle operator now has the option to apply for an import licence in his company’s name or his personal name.

“He has the option to import that vehicle directly by going online to the auctions, going directly to suppliers in Japan or wherever else and buy it at source, which means that he’s not being held to the point of where he has to pay additional costs to dealers,” he said.

“Before, you had to use a taxi association that you are a member of. Now, you have the option, if you so desire, to go directly and handle your transaction on your own. Huge difference. If it is that they cannot do that for one reason or the other, they don’t have a tax compliance certificate, or they don’t have the money upfront to buy the car and they need to finance it, they still have the ability to get the licence and to use the licence to negotiate with a dealer, with a bank, whoever it is, for a specific vehicle,” he further noted.

Mr. Vaz added that the change in policy will “make sure that every transport operator, regardless of whether he’s a member of an association, he has a licence on his own, as long as he’s compliant and registered with the Transport Authority and he pays his taxes that he can qualify to get a tax compliance certificate, he is good to go.”

The Minister also noted that the policy will be for two years, thereby allowing transport operators to benefit from an additional increase in age limit, specific for the public transportation.

The Transport Authority will be responsible to communicate and coordinate with the Trade Board for the issuance of these licences.

“I’m heartened because I know the complaints, and I know that the 2019 policy did not go far enough to make sure that these persons would have been able to benefit directly and not have to pay the middleman or the dealer markups,” Mr. Vaz said.