.
3.3.0 Incentives Programs


01. Export Industry Encouragement Act
02. Modernization of Industry Programme
03. Waiver of Duty & Moratorium on Duty
04. Approved Farmer Status



01 Export Industry Encouragement Act
The Export Industry Encouragement Act (EIEA), originally promulgated in 1956, is designed to encourage export production for non-CARICOM markets. The Act was designed in conjunction with the Industrial Incentives Act and all provisions under that Act, including the concessions obtainable, are applicable to the EIEA.

Under the EIEA, an approved export manufacturer (which must be a duly incorporated company, with an office or place of business within the island of Jamaica) may receive (1) relief from income tax on profits or gains and 2) relief from customs duties on raw materials and machinery for production, or (3) for the expansion or repair of its factory and equipment. To qualify for consideration, an export manufacturer must satisfy the Minister with responsibility for industrial development that is:

To qualify for incentives under this act the manufacturer must be an exporter of manufactured products. In the case of a full exporter (that is, 100% of the goods manufactured are exported), the business must be designed to export manufactured products in exchange for hard currencies (therefore, the CARICOM market is not usually the focus of this exporter). In the case of a partial exporter, producers must export a threshold of 5% of their production to non-CARICOM markets.

Having fulfilled these requirements the manufacturer may receive concessions on income tax for ten (10) years as well as exemption from import duties on raw materials and machinery. The income tax rebate is granted according to the percentage of export profits to total profits. For new exporters, the rebate is calculated based on percentage of export sales to total sales, while for the already existing exporter, the rebate is calculated based on incremental export sales over a base year. The Act has been amended to provide benefits where incremental exports to non-CARICOM countries are in excess of 5% of total exports.


02 Modernization of Industry Programme (MOI)
The Modernization of Industry Programme (MOI) is administered by JAMPRO and its major objective is the "orientation of manufacturing industries towards adoption of techniques which exploit internal economies and reliable information systems designed to make them more competitive in the domestic and overseas market".

The MOI is not an act of law like the other incentive regimes. The programme does provide an incentive to meet its objectives, namely the exemption from the General Consumption Tax (GCT) on capital goods. However, the main approach is meeting its development objectives is an emphasis on technical assistance.
In order to qualify for certification under the MOI Programme the applicant should be involved in the export trade or plan to enter the export market or provide support services or raw materials to export manufacturers. In addition, the applicant should have installed or ordered equipment that has been certified as qualifying for plant Modernization. A prepared list of planned purchases of modernizing equipment is also necessary. As a final criterion for inclusion in the programme, participants are required to periodically submit data, adequate for assessing the company's achievements under MOI.


03 Waiver of Duty & Moratorium on Duty
Waivers and moratoria on duty were granted by the Minister of Finance under powers contained in the Customs Act. The powers are discretionary and were exercised to provided special allowances or incentives to targeted sectors which, in the Government's estimation, were worthy of these concessions at any given time. The agriculture, manufacturing and horticulture sectors have been the primary beneficiaries of these concessions, however, practically every other sector has benefited at some time or the other.

Unlike incentive regimes, waivers and moratoria were "one-off" concessions and were not applicable over an extended period. They related only to the specific raw material or capital items which the particular importer and applied for, they offered no other concession and there was no guarantee that additional applications for relief would be entertained. For this reason duty waivers and moratoria cannot properly be considered as an "incentives Regime" in the way one would consider the other incentives outlined above.


04 Approved Farmer Status
The farmer that engages in the production of certain crops qualifies for ‘approved farmer’ status and the ensuing benefits. Activities qualifying include:
  • Most agricultural products grown and produced in Jamaica
  • Companies involved in the hatching of eggs

The successful attainment of 'approved farmer' status guarantees the farmer income tax and import duty concessions for up to ten years, after which the status may be renewed.
The Government of Jamaica has provided a number of investment incentives, which are accessible by both local and foreign investors. The following offers a listing of the more prominent incentives presently being offered by the Government in each sector, as well as those that may be applied across a number of sectors. JAMPRO is the facilitator for access to these incentives and therefore, if a potential investor wishes to take advantage of these facilities they can contact us.