11 THE WEEKLY GLEANER | OCTOBER 10 - NOVEMBER 6, 2024 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS IT IS the time of the year when Jamaicans overseas start making travel arrangements for Christmas, and more importantly, shipping arrangements to send barrels back home packed with personal items for family and friends. SOME WILL also be thinking about making that all-important permanent move after spending their working life overseas. For many, the task of returning home can be a minefield of bureaucracy, but the Jamaica Customs Agency believes that once potential returning residents follow the guidelines set out below, the move home can be an easy and seamless procedure. WHO QUALIFIES AS A RETURNING RESIDENT? In order to be considered as a Returning Resident and to benefit from the concession afforded to this status, you must satisfy one of the following conditions: • Be a Jamaican national who has attained the age of 18 years and who has been residing overseas for the last three consecutive years and is returning to Jamaica to reside permanently. • Be a Jamaican who gave up your Jamaican citizenship and can provide proof of that previous status and wishes to return home. • Be a non-Jamaican whose spouse is a Jamaican Returning Resident. • Be a deported person who has been residing overseas for the last three consecutive years. • Be a returning student • A Jamaican national who has resided abroad for more than one year but less than three consecutive years for the purpose of studying and who returns to Jamaica to reside permanently will be entitled to duty SELINA CLARKE Graham, deputy chief executive officer (CEO) of operations of the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA), says there are several guidelines that must be adhered to by persons seeking to import charitable goods and so benefit from tax exemptions on these items once they qualify for this provision. CLARKE GRAHAM explained that registration with the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) and the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies (DCFS) is a prerequisite. She outlined these guidelines during the recent Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay. She said: “The first thing that you’re supposed to do before you can even contemplate importing charitable goods to Jamaica is that you must be registered with the Companies Office of Jamaica. You must have a tax compliance certificate … your objects and powers must be known prior to registration. “So if it is [that] you’re setting up this charitable organisation to relieve poverty, for example, to distribute education aides to children, and so on, to administer to the needs of the less fortunate in the inner-city communities, it must be known, and it must be written out in those documents and submitted to the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies, which is where you make your application for your charitable certificate.” Clarke Graham said that such organisations are established exclusively for charitable purposes and operate specifically for the public benefit. As such, profits should not be benefiting any board member personally. “Charitable purposes are, for example, relief of poverty; the advancement of education; the advancement of good citizenship or community development; advancement of health or saving of lives; relief of those in need, for example, those who are disabled [and] those who are experiencing financial difficulties; [and the] advancement of religion,” she stated. SPECIFICATIONS Regarding the requirements for accessing exemptions, the deputy CEO further said that organisations must be registered as approved charitable entities with the DCFS. “You would have obtained a valid certificate of registration of approval from the DCFS, and it would have been uploaded to our Customs ASYCUDA system. We will [then] be able to access it every time you import,” she outlined. “You must also have your taxpayer registration number for the approved charitable organisation, [and] you must ensure that the imports are aligned with the objects and powers. You must register all imports for charitable purposes in the name of the approved charitable organisations, which means that the consignee’s name and address must reflect that of the approved charity,” Clarke Graham added. Guidelines for importing charitable items Making the move home! Goods being processed in a Customs warehouse in Montego Bay. CONTRIBUTED Guidelines for Returning Residents Please see MOVE, 12 Please see IMPORT, 12
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