KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Tax Administration of Jamaica (TAJ) is reporting that preliminary figures show that approximately $256 million has been collected in traffic fines at the end of the second amnesty period, which ran from November 27, 2017 to January 13.

The TAJ in a release today, said a breakdown of the figures suggests that $233 million were related to outstanding tickets covered by the amnesty while, of the approximately 127,000 transactions, 98,814 are related to the amnesty.

The agency further disclosed that on the last two days of the amnesty, there was a significant increase in customer traffic at tax offices islandwide, as well as on its online payment facility. More than $103 million was collected on those two days alone.

“Of note was that the “virtual” tax office or online payment platform ranked as the top collection point, collecting $20m on the final two days.

“The tax authority operated several tax offices on Saturday January 13, giving taxpayers a final opportunity to benefit from the last day of the traffic ticket amnesty,” explained TAJ.

Meanwhile, the TAJ wished to remind motorists that since the ending of the amnesty on Saturday, the system used in the collection of traffic ticket fines has reverted to its original state.

As such, all tickets not paid within 21 days of being issued are no longer payable at any tax office or through the online system, as prescribed by law.

All outstanding tickets will now have to be dealt with through the courts.