FINANCE Minister Dr Nigel Clarke has commended the Tax Administration of Jamaica (TAJ) and its partner agencies on the launch of the virtual motor vehicle registration portal on Tuesday.

The added online service which is a result of the collaboration among TAJ, eGov Jamaica and the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ), means that motorists are able to renew their motor vehicle registration certificate (MVRC) online via the authority’s online platform www.jamaicatax.gov.jm.

The addition to the suite of digital services follows a recently concluded pilot exercise of the service, with statistics suggesting a strong take-up of the online renewal option, according to the TAJ. During the pilot phase (April 1- September 30), approximately 2,886 of 2,928 applications were processed, with data indicating that more than 90 per cent of the applications were processed within a business day, which is well within the stated one- to three-day turnaround time, according to the agency.

Speaking at the launch of the Government’s Reverse Income Tax Credit initiative on Wednesday morning at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew, Clarke said the new registration modality was another short-term solution to deal with the perennial problem of overcrowding at tax offices islandwide.

“Over 50 per cent of the traffic in tax offices is due to persons coming in to renew their motor vehicle registration. Our tax offices were built decades ago for a different Jamaica; a smaller Jamaica, a less prosperous Jamaica. Today our tax offices are inadequate in their size, in their internal space and in their parking arrangements, with the volume of transactions that take place in our tax offices this often means that they are overcrowded and as minister I get the complaints, I get the photographs,” Clarke said.

He said the medium-term solution is a buildout of more than 11 revenue centres and tax offices at a cost of over $ 12 billion which will take up to five years to be completed.

Clarke, who said the revenue centres will be modelled off the Constant Spring centre in St Andrew, stated that plans are to construct in Portmore, Mandeville and Montego Bay alongside the renovation of the existing offices and new ones to “decisively deal with the inadequacy of space”.

The finance minister said the Government is not just resting on the medium-term solutions alone but also looking at short-term solutions to move more transactions online.

Taxpayers owning a private motor vehicle with valid insurance certificates, cover notes and fitness may apply and pay for their renewal online and then pick-up the MVRC and sticker within three business days, at one of six tax offices, involved in this phase, utilising a special pick up window, TAJ says.

Once processed an e-mail notification will be sent to the taxpayer or their stated agent to pick up the registration documents at any of the following tax offices they had selected:

– Kingston Revenue Service Centre

– St Andrew Revenue Service Centre (Constant Spring)

– Montego Bay Revenue Service Centre

– Spanish Town Tax Office

– May Pen Tax Office

– St Ann’s Bay Tax Office

Customers will also be able to track the progress of the registration online using TAJ’s Motor Vehicle Registration Renewal tracking facility.

Clients are able to renew their vehicle registration using the online service between 90 days prior to and up to 11 months after the document’s expiry. Motorists are reminded that they must be in possession of valid fitness and insurance certificates, which will be electronically verified via the integrated databases of the Island Traffic Authority, the Insurance Association of Jamaica and TAJ.