Returning residence to wait longer for response to concerns about importing personal property

Jamaica's returning residents will have to wait for the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) to complete its review before receiving a response to their complaints. They have been complaining about the requirements as well as the high fees they have been forced to pay to get personal properties imported to Jamaica.

    

Major Richard Reese, Commissioner of Customs, indicated on Monday that the returning residents' concerns are now before the Customs Advisory Board.

 

"Recommendations will be made through the Ministry of Finance, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Customs recognises that some of the items listed on the schedule, in terms of what can be imported duty free, needs to be updated... Secondly, the requirements, in terms of proof of residency, tax returns and all the other requirements that are currently stated are the subject of review," Major Reese explained.   

 

He added that some of the challenges which some returning residents face are the result of their own error. He was speaking in relation to cases which were brought to his agency by the the Jamaica Association for the Resettlement of Returning Residents.

 

"If you're not eligible, you're not eligible; if you haven't completed your application process, we cannot process your shipment accordingly. Some have subsequently provided the information and have effected clearance," he said. 

 

"In another instance, the individual was bringing in building materials and a commercial motorbike, which is used to vend ice-cream. At the meeting I was led to believe that this was a mobility scooter for an elderly person and that changed the situation completely; so once we have the facts, accurate representation is made, we treat with them," he outlined.