Shipping to Jamaica

Are you the one who want to bring in a shipment from US to Jamaica and you are having little information on the best method and practice to go about it? This write up is dedicated to inform you on alternative way for shipping to Jamaica. For example

• duty and Tax information 
• regulation for packages
• product prohibited shipping to Jamaica
• documentation required to send package from U.S.A to Jamaica
• best choice to ship cheap to Jamaica 
• those factors that affects cost and
• other things you may need to know to conveniently send in goods from US to Jamaica without stress, sanctions, and at a cheaper rate.

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles located down south of Cuba deep in the Caribbean. There are several international package delivery companies that one can use to send a package to Jamaica such as FedEx, United State Postal Service (USPS), DHL and UPS. It is very important to address the label properly and also complete your shipping company’s customs declaration form each time you send packages to Jamaica.

Shipping to Jamaica duty and Tax information

To bring in goods into Jamaica there are duties, taxes and fees that would be paid to the customs service at each clearance point or at the Custom House. They include;

1. Import or customs duty: They are duty payable on imported goods.
2. Stamp duty and additional stamp duty: Postage stamp equivalent to Five US dollars is imposed on receipts with Cost Insurance and Freight value of less than Five Thousand Five Hundred dollars, and above this limit the stamp duty charges up to One Hundred Dollars. Additional stamp duty is placed on goods such as pork product, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, etc.
3. Standard compliance fee (SCF): SCF is calculated on the CIF value. It is a fee of 0.3% collected on behalf of the Bureau of Standards.
4. General consumption tax (GST) and special consumption tax (SCT): This tax has replaced duties like retail sales tax, consumption duty, hotel accommodation tax, excise duty, telephone service tax, and the likes. Most items attract only GCT, while some attracts both GCT and SCT. GCT is paid on goods and services except those items that are zero-rated, and SCT is payable on few items like tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.
5. Customs administrative fee: This fee is applicable to all imports and is calculated from the goods CIF value.
6. Processing fee: Processing fee is required to process all the important documents that would be submitted to the customs department. Some important documents include supplier invoice, transshipment- shipment shipping bill (C36), unaccompanied baggage declaration, import entry C83, import entry C78, application to amend report, application to load or unload cargo at a sufferance wharf (C7), application to remove goods for re-warehousing, application to remove goods under bond prior to entry, request to import goods for temporary use, request to repack warehouse goods, bill of lading, and provisional entry.
7. Environmental levy: Environmental levy is a 0.5% CIF value of all imports.

You should be informed that, Jamaican Customs Duties are collected only by the Post and Telegraph department, Jamaica Customs Department and from time to time by the Inland Revenue Department.

Shipping to Jamaica Packages Regulation

Some goods are restricted or otherwise prohibited to be imported into Jamaica, be careful not to fall into the wrong trap due to ignorance. They are outlined below

• Certain brands of crayons from Thailand and ship from China
• Tablets containing a combination of diphenhydramine hydrochloride and methaqualone
• Live pigs, fresh pork and other pork products.
• Gambling devices
• Animals and carcasses of animals prohibited under the animal diseases and importation act.
• Coin, silver, or any money not of the established standard in fineness and weight.
• Barrel of ammunition
• Products made in Iran
• Traveler’s checks
• Acids, gases, ivory, firecrackers and toy guns.
• Obscene or indecent material.
• Timbers from Liberia.

Cheap Shipping to Jamaica

When considering cost, it is preferable to ship goods into Jamaica through small couriers than through freight forwarding companies. And even though small couriers are cheap they will still give you the real value of your money and your goods get delivered to you directly. These couriers have dedicated expert staffs that would take care of your requirements, logistics across borders and other tasks such as, custom clearance, international legal issues and documentation.

There are certain factors that affects cost of shipping, they includes; density of the shipment, classification of goods, weight of the shipment, shipping mode, distance between the source and destination, duties & taxes, and negotiation rates. Use Linbis shipping calculator to find out how much could you save using our service.

Buying Online and shipping to Jamaica from US

If you want to buy anything from the US, and ship to Jamaica yourself, (most especially when the store does not ship directly) some process would be required of you to follow. But you can do this through Linbis shopping portal. Linbis Logistics platform works with custom broker, freight forwarders and Courier Company that will provide the price base on your needs. They do the job of facilitating your item purchase. What you do is to register online with Linbis to set up uour account and to get a US mailing address. Then  pick any shopping portal on the US websites available and start shopping online. Steps to follow are: 

• You sign up with your Government of Jamaica ID.
• Pay a yearly fee to access their shipping service.
• Get an account with a special personal identification and password.
• Get a US mailing address for letters, periodicals and packages.
• Choose from the options to use your own credit card or theirs.
• Go online and buy the items and pay for shipping to your registered US mailing address.
• Items are delivered to the US mailing address (which in most cases is a warehouse for receiving and sorting items for customers).
• The items are checked and repackaged and sent straight away to Jamaica.
• The customs broker would do the job of clearing your items for you at the port.
• The package gets delivered to you, and you pay the customs clearing charge and their processing fees of course.

It is so simple, all from the comfort of your home you can buy what you want and have it sent down to you in Jamaica.

Unlike using big companies like UPS, FedEx, DHL, and others, these small courier companies can provide a US shipping address and consolidate your package to reduce the amount of money you will spend. Linbis Logistics platform will help you choose the best option at no cost.