In light of the continued negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as part of the Government’s continued efforts to support the recovery process, Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke has approved the extension of existing COVID-19 compliance relaxation mechanisms.

According to the minister, certain measures will be either extended, suspended or implemented, effective July 1, 2020:

• The Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) will continue facilitating the issuance of one-off Tax Compliance Certificates (TCC) to businesses that fall into non-compliance over the period July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020,

• there will be no new summons issued, court proceedings or enforcement action taken for non-compliance until after September 30, 2020,

• And taxpayers with outstanding interest and penalty charges, as a result of late payment and/ or late filing of tax obligations due for the period March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 may qualify for the reversal of charges incurred during that period.

The minister first announced the relaxation as part of the 2020/21 Revenue Measures, where business entities were allowed a TCC without meeting the statutory obligations of filing and making a return.

This was done as part of the effort to assist businesses in continuing their operations despite the COVID-19 pandemic and were scheduled to end on June 30.

“Businesses are in crisis mode and should not be distracted from core activities and have to divert resources to enforcement matters during this critical period. The Government will continue to support the reopening and strengthening of businesses that are having difficulties at this time,” the minister stated.

The TAJ will issue additional information about this relaxation and conditions for qualification.