Over 60% of almost $340 Million from Traffic Ticket Amnesty Collected on Final Day

Minister of National Security Hon. Peter Bunting says over sixty percent of the almost $340 million collected from the recent traffic ticket amnesty was earned on the last day.

The amnesty which was in effect July 1 – Dec. 31, 2012 allowed motorists to incur no additional fees or penalties on unpaid tickets issued prior to September 21, 2010, once they were paid in full.

More than 21-thousand persons showed up at tax offices island wide on December 31.

Minister Bunting said the Ministry of National Security is aware that there are persons with unpaid tickets who did not take advantage of the amnesty. He noted that these persons will have to settle these tickets in the traffic court when sessions resume on Monday January 7. Persons for whom warrants have been issued will first need to report to the police before going to traffic court.

Special arrangements have been made for persons who had started the payment process at the JCF Traffic Division but did not get the opportunity to complete the process by Monday December 31, 2012, as the system was overwhelmed.

Those persons have already been issued stamped documents from the Traffic Division verifying that they had started the process of payment before the end of the amnesty. Such persons must go to a tax office with those documents before Friday January 4, 2012 to complete the payment and secure the benefits of the amnesty.

Regarding individuals who claim that they have previously paid fines for tickets which are showing up as unpaid, the Ministry of National Security, Tax Administration Jamaica and the courts will update and reconcile their databases to determine the accuracy of such claims.  Where persons who have paid for tickets during the amnesty are able to provide proof of prior payment they will be eligible for a refund.

A full report on the Traffic Ticket Amnesty and related issues will be made to the Cabinet and the Ministry of National Security will inform the public whether any additional measures will be implemented to address the issue of unpaid traffic tickets.

Minister Bunting thanked all the public officials including members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Traffic Division and Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), who he said worked assiduously to ensure motorists were accommodated especially in the last few days of the amnesty.

“I especially want to thank the team from the TAJ who worked particularly hard and well into the night to keep their offices open so that everyone could be accommodated and processed. They did a phenomenal job” Minister Bunting said.