TCC Fundamental for Doing Business in Jamaica

A Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC) is a fundamental requirement for persons wishing to conduct business in Jamaica, says Technical Specialist at Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), Colleen Williams.

A TCC is necessary to ensure that an individual or an organisation is tax compliant, and that all tax liabilities and wage-related statutory deductions are up to date, where applicable.

Addressing a virtual sensitisation session, titled, ‘In the Zone’ held recently by the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA), Mrs. Williams pointed out that “having a TCC issued by the TAJ is evidence that a business is in compliance with Jamaican tax laws, especially when trying to access business loans”.

In addition to having a TCC, there are three pillars of compliance that persons must conform to, especially those who are looking to enter the special economic zones (SEZs).

These are the registration of one’s business, payment of taxes, where applicable, and filing annual returns.

Mrs. Williams shared that “registration formalises the business’ operation and facilitates the person in honouring their tax obligation”.

“You need to be registered for all that you need to be registered for. If you are in business and your operation requires you to be registered for General Consumption Tax (GCT) or Income Tax, [then you need to do so],” she added.

With registration for tax purposes being the main type of registration, the Technical Specialist noted that other forms of registration, such as the application for a Tax Registration Number and business registration, would have already been taken care of by the time a company enters the zone.

However, after entering the zone, they will need to register for the applicable tax types and E-service, among other things.

In terms of payment, developers and occupants in the SEZs, like everyone else, are required to make quarterly estimated payments that are grounded in Section 65 of the Income Tax Act (ITA).

Mrs. Williams explained that “the Special Economic Zone Act (SEZA) outlines all provisions that the ITA holds, and this is one of them. You are required to make quarterly payments of estimated tax to the extent that estimated tax is payable by your entity”.

Furthermore, entities are required to make the estimated declaration, which would be your IT 15A, and that is grounded in Section 66 of the Income Tax Act.

“This is to the extent that you have income tax payable for the year or you anticipate that you will have income tax payable for the year, then you are required to make this declaration,” Mrs. Williams said.

Additionally, annual return for persons who have tax payable must be filed by March 15 of the year following the assessment.

Section 71A of the ITA stipulates that all corporate bodies, including SEZ entities, are required to file, whether or not they have taxes to pay.

In instances where an entity fails to file a return on time, the entity will incur a penalty of $5,000 per month for each month or part thereof that the return remains outstanding, up to a maximum of $1,000,000.

“This penalty will attract interest, and then if there is tax payable, there is going to be interest associated with the late payment of the tax liability, which we do not want you to have,” explained the Technical Specialist.

She pointed out that “while there might be circumstances in which you may be able to get a waiver, do not bank on the waiver, because there is no guarantee that you will get it, so the encouragement is that you try to file your returns on time”.

This sensitisation session kick-started phase two of JSEZA’s customer engagement programme aimed at improving stakeholder participation and heightening awareness about the efficient operation of SEZs in Jamaica.

The second session in the series is slated for Friday, March 17 and will focus on recent amendments to the SEZ Act.