Congratulations on continuing to execute your mandates
AS I S customary, the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) joins the World Customs Organization (WCO) member countries in celebrating International Customs Day. The theme for 2024, ‘ Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose’, comes at an opportune time as we continue to strengthen relationships with our key stakeholders and forge ahead with critical reforms in facilitating trade and travel.
Customs agencies have long been viewed as the stewards of a country’s trade and borders – facilitating legitimate trade while protecting nations from threats. Trade accounts for a significant proportion of our gross domestic product and, as a result, the role of the Jamaica Customs Agency is critical in facilitating Jamaica’s business activity and maintaining border security.
The mandate of the JCA continues to be supported by the right governance and legislative frameworks. The new Customs Bill, which has already been tabled in Parliament, and its accompanying regulations will further enhance Customs reform and support the delivery of services at the JCA including the introduction of a canine division, body cameras, contactless processing for non-commercial imports, single-window digital document processing, and digital immigration processing.
Within the past year, the Jamaica Customs Agency has continued its thrust towards modernisation by investing heavily in the expansion of its digital ecosystem to provide quality public service delivery. Among these initiatives is the development of a new mobile application “JaCustoms Connect” as well as the implementation of its contactless clearance system, to enhance the end-user experience of Customs stakeholders with the entity. These, among other far-reaching digitalisation projects, have enhanced the JCA’s processes and outputs resulting in increased efficiency among various companies and border regulatory agencies, while earning the JCA the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 certification from the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ).
The JCA also continues to strengthen Jamaica’s capabilities in national security and to this end, has gained direct access to the information system of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), which will enable the faster sharing of intelligence information in an effort to enhance border protection.
Congratulations to the JCA for continuing to execute on its mandates to secure Jamaica’s borders and facilitate business, through the implementation of various strategic initiatives. As you pursue your mission, your investments in promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and building professional pride continue to reap great dividends through greater efficiency, transparency and high performance.
Congratulations to the JCA for continuing to execute on its mandates to secure Jamaica’s borders and facilitate business, through the implementation of various strategic initiatives. As you pursue your mission, your investments in promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and building professional pride continue to reap great dividends through greater efficiency, transparency and high performance.