KINGSTON, Jamaica – Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) has announced that four of its offices have been ISO 9001:2015 certified by the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ).

This certification means the revenue authority has acquired the seal of approval for being in compliance with the internationally recognised standard for quality management systems.

The certified locations are St Andrew Revenue Service Centre (Constant Spring), May Pen Tax Office, Spanish Town Tax Office, and Falmouth Tax Office.

The Tax Authority is one of 15 entities identified by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to undergo the World Bank-funded certification activity.

“The rigorous certification process involved dedicated man-hours for staff training, and a series of audits conducted at the ISO-certified locations to ensure processes, documentation and systems were developed and improved to satisfy the certification requirements,” the TAJ said in a statement on Wednesday.

Additionally, TAJ was supported by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) through a lead consultant and supporting project staff, to guide the organisation through the certification.

“The global, gold standard certification of the listed Tax Offices underscored [the] Tax Administration Jamaica’s commitment to improving the customer service experience and quality standards, through documented reengineered business processes and procedures to meet the needs of the 21st-century taxpayer, thereby making it easier to do business,” the statement continued.

Commissioner General at the TAJ, Ainsley Powell, has extolled the importance of the recent certifications within the Revenue Authority’s operations. The Commissioner General expressed his delight with the successful certification of the Tax Offices, as the Tax Authority provides several essential services for the populace. He also indicated that this move will go a long way in strengthening the country’s economic programme, as doing business with the revenue services continues to improve and become easier.

“Tax Administration Jamaica continues to reengineer its business processes making it more convenient to do business, thereby improving compliance and ultimately resulting in a more tax compliant Jamaica.