THE island's manufacturers are now trying to quantify the refund they will get from the the Government's roll-back of the General Consumption Tax (GCT) on imported packaging material.

Yesterday, president of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA), Doreen Frankson, told members that the administration had folded under JMA pressure and removed the 15 per cent tax.

"The Government has agreed to take off the GCT on packaging materials," she said, to strong applause from members at yesterday's annual general meeting at the JMA's downtown Kingston headquarters.

"It becomes effective July 1," Frankson added.

She urged members to make a tally of the GCT charges they had incurred since this month's implementation, in order to quantify the refunds they are now due.

Up to press time last night, the finance ministry did not have a formal response to the announcement but Frankson said she had received a letter from the ministry, notifying her of the roll-back.

The charge was 15 per cent on the price of all imported packaging and material goods. The GCT would have particularly affected food and chemical manufacturers who import bottles to package their products, as local options to source bottles are few, since the closure of West Indies Glass Company a few years ago.

"Manufacturers are finding that the GCT is hurting our cash flow," said Frankson.

For instance, Dudley Eaton, executive at King Pepper Ltd, which manufactures and bottles pepper sauces, recently said he was charged $114,000 in GCT for importing bottles. According to his estimates, his company would have had to pay an additional $600,000 for its second batch of imports slated to come in mid-July.

With the roll-back, King Pepper and other manufacturers will no longer have to face those charges.

Meanwhile, Frankson said yesterday that the JMA will continue to press for the removal of the two per cent non-refundable cess.

All imports to the island are subject to this new customs charge, which replaced the refundable four per cent cess as announced by Finance Minister Omar Davies in his April budget speech, in which he outlined plans to raise $3.5-billion in revenue for this fiscal year.

The four per cent cess angered some businessmen and led to the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the JMA clamouring for its removal. Some merchants claimed that clearing costs were amounting to as much as 35 times the original costs, when the cess became effective.

Frankson's predecessor, Clarence Clarke, gave tacit approval of the Government's move to shave off two per cent off the initial cess, but the decision did not go down well with JMA executives. They maintained that Clarke had failed to consult them before accepting the two per cent user fee as a compromise.

In the face of the controversy, Clarke resigned.

Clarke and Frankson met face-to-face near the end of yesterday's meeting and exchanged handshakes and pleasantries.

"Clarence Clarke is a part of the manufacturers' family," Frankson announced.

"I wish to congratulate Frankson on her appointment as president," Clarke replied.

Frankson is the JMA's 14th president and its first female head.

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