Trade Board working towards eliminating backlog
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Trade Board Limited (TBL) says it is working towards eliminating the remaining backlog of permit applications by Friday.
The deadline was announced during a meeting with representatives of the TBL and the Jamaica Electronic Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) team at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce’s New Kingston offices today.
Portfolio minister Audley Shaw welcomed this turnaround time, and underscored the importance of JSWIFT as a means for simplifying trade.
According to the ministry, the agency had been tasked by the minister to clear the backlog quickly, and move towards the portal realising its full potential.
Meanwhile, State Minister in the ministry, Dr Norman Dunn, also emphasised the necessity of ensuring timeliness in the processing and approval of applications through the portal.
The TBL, working with the JSWIFT team, has also committed to returning to the guarantee of service of three working days for the turnaround of import permits by Monday, October 19, and also to working towards a turnaround time of 24 hours in very short order.
The JSWIFT export module went live on June 22, 2020, followed by the import module on July 20, 2020. To date, over 5,600 applications have been processed and approved through the system.
The platform is a transactional web-based solution available to traders allowing them to apply and pay for licences and permits through a single portal from any location.