The Government of Jamaica has moved to provide temporary relief from customs duty and General Consumption Tax (GCT) on goods imported for rehabilitation works linked to Hurricane Beryl.
The relief will run from July 4 to August 23.
The Ministry of Finance and Planning today advised that the move arose from the activation of the Disaster Risk Management Act and the impact of Hurricane Beryl on Jamaica.
“The Minister of Finance and the Public Service granted approval for goods, which the Commissioner of Customs is satisfied are being imported for relief and rehabilitation, to be relieved of import duty and general consumption tax.”
This is in accordance with 30B of the Second Schedule to the Customs Tariff and section 47 of the GCT Act.
Beryl became the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic and peaked at winds of 165 mph (270 kph). It weakened to a still-destructive Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just hours before impacting Jamaica on Wednesday July 3, 2024.
Historic Beryl also marked the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933.
Beryl’s eyewall brushed Jamaica’s southern coast, causing significant damage across many parishes.
Since then several groups from across the diaspora has mobilized to send relief supplies back home to those in need. This latest move by the Ministry of Finance will aid in cutting the cost of bringing the supplies to Jamaica.
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