What is a Licence?
There are some commodities that are regulated, these commodities are only allowed to be imported and exported by specific categories of importers or exporters. A Licence to trade in a specific commodity is based on legislation which clearly outlines the conditions to be met for companies to be authorized as traders of these commodities. This process requires approval by the responsible Border Regulatory Agency (BRA).
What is a Permit?
A permit grants permission to import or export specific quantities of a regulated commodity under prescribed conditions. Permits are required for regulated commodities to be traded. There may be additional privileges granted to Licenced traders that may not be available to individuals or companies that are not Licenced.
What is the Difference between Licence and Permit
A Licence gives the trader the authorized status to trade the regulated commodity while a Permit grants the trader permission to import a specific quantity of the regulated commodity. The Permit application is normally accompanied by a commercial invoice. When the Permit is granted by the BRA the approved data is seamlessly transferred from the Jamaica Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) system to the Automated System for Customs Management Data, ASYCUDA World, to facilitate electronic referencing, verification and goods clearance.
Trader Responsibility
The trader must ensure that they fulfil all the requirements for importing and exporting commodities to avoid penalties that may be associated with breaching the existing legislations. They must check to see if a Permit is required. One useful source is the Jamaica Trade Information Portal (JTIP) https://jamaicatradeportal.gov.jm. which contains information on the requirements to trade specific commodities and the responsible Border Regulatory Agency.
