The Customs Tariff, Item 6 of the Second Schedule, allows for each passenger to receive duty concessions in respect of the following:

1. Reasonable quantity of wearing apparel, articles of personal adornment and toilet requisites whether new or used;

2. Instruments and tools to be used by him for the purpose of his profession, trade, occupation or employment, provided that they have been in his possession and bona fide use for a reasonable period;

3. Tobacco and some potable articles including wines and spirits in his baggage or on his person which he might reasonably be expected to carry with him for his personal use, in such quantities as the Commissioner may from time to time approve;

4. Used household effects which have been in the passenger's use for a reasonable period of time and are not imported for sale;

5. A passenger who is eighteen (18) years or older and who is the holder of a Jamaican passport or is ordinarily resident in Jamaica is entitled to additional duty concession in respect of other personal or household effects not specified in (1), (2), (3) above which the proper officer is satisfied are not imported for sale or commercial exchange and do not exceed One Thousand Jamaican Dollars (JA$1,000) in total value. This concession will not be granted to a person who has been permitted duty free importation under this section within the six-month period immediately prior to the date of this return to Jamaica.

What are Personal and Household Effects?

Personal effects are those items which are:

(i) worn on the body, that is, wearing apparel and articles of personal adornment;

(ii) basic to the individual, for example, toilet requisites, medicine.

Household effects are those items basic to the home, for example, furniture, television, radio, stove, and refrigerator.

Personal and household goods which are not in commercial quantities and some other items may be cleared without the services of a licensed Customs Broker. Goods which have a CIF value of the Jamaican equivalent to United States One Thousand Dollars (US$1,000) or less may be cleared without the services of a licensed Customs Broker. The clearance of goods valued in excess of this amount will require the services of a licensed Customs Broker.

Returning Residents (who resided abroad for more than 3 years)

Returning residents who satisfy the under mentioned condition would be eligible for additional duty concessions in respect of personal and household effects and/or tools of trade.

a. be a Jamaican national who has attained the age of eighteen (18) years;
b. have been resident overseas for not less than three (3) consecutive years; and
c. be returning to Jamaica to reside permanently.

Are there any Special Cases?

1. Returning non-Jamaican spouses or persons who qualify as Returning Residents will be afforded the same concession as their Jamaican partner.

2. Returning students who have attained the age of eighteen (18) years and who have studied abroad for more than one (1) year but less than three (3) consecutive years will qualify for concessions in respect of tools of trade and some personal and household effects.

3. Jamaicans who gave up their citizenship (and can provide proof of their previous status) and who return home will be granted the status of a Returning Resident with the attendant benefits.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR RETURNING RESIDENTS

If you intend to return to Jamaica to reside permanently, you should contact the Returning Residents Facilitation Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade or any of the Jamaican Embassies or Consulates in foreign countries in order to obtain a copy of the Returning Residents Information Pack.

Your eligibility for concessions as a Returning Resident is established by the Department of Customs. This must be done after your arrival in Jamaica and before you begin the process of clearing your personal and household effects and /or tools of trade.

All goods should be imported within six (6) months before or after the arrival in Jamaica of the Returning Resident.

Please ask at this Unit for the list of concessions to which you are entitled. In order to establish your eligibility for duty concessions, you will be required to submit:

If you are a Returning Resident then call or visit the Returning Resident's Unit at:

Jamaica Customs Department
P.O. Box 466
Marcus Garvey Drive, Newport East
Kingston 16
Jamaica, W.I.
(876) 922-5140-9