Jamaica is amending laws that govern duty-free shopping to allow travellers to make purchases on entry at the ports, under similar terms as when they depart.

The change will allow for purchases of up to US$500 per person without having to pay customs and excise duties.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said Cabinet has already signed off on the amendments and that a bill will soon be tabled and debated in Parliament.

"Only people leaving the country can buy duty-free; the proposed legislation will also allow those coming in to buy duty-free," Bartlett said.

Inbond shopping is limited under The Tourist (Duty-Free) Shopping System Act of 1974, to patronage of bonded or inbond merchants who are licensed under subsidiary legislation to the act to transmit business.

Appropriate changes

The law limits the merchants to selling 33 categories of approved goods and consumables, including spirits, tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia, sweaters, figurines, wares, electronics, cosmetics, jewellery and more.

"The only thing now is for it to be debated in the House, and the Attorney General's Department is now looking at it to make the appropriate amendments to be approved," said Bartlett.

"If the airports are able to earn more money from the shopping in the airports itself, then the overall cost of operations will be lower so they can reduce the cost on the ramp. So, the cost of landing will now be reduced and we will be able to be more competitive as a destination."

Indru Dadlani, a past vice-president of the Inbond Merchant Association (IMA), sees the plan "as going in the right direction", saying other countries already offer inbound shopping, and that it would help close the gap for convenience shopping between Jamaica and its competing regional tourism neighbours.

"Shopping is not comparable to St Martin, St Thomas or all the other Caribbean islands. They are way ahead of Jamaica and I think the minister is going in the right direction," he said.

Expanding duty-free offerings

Dadlani said the amendments to the tourist shopping system law deals with both the remittance of taxes and broadening the duty-free offerings, which the IMA has for the last month lobbied to be expanded.

"It is a very restrictive list - mainly jewellery, watches and perfumes. The list has been around since the 1980s and has not changed. You need things like fashion and sunglasses on the list; you need clothing on the list; gemstones," he said.

The merchants have sent a proposal of new items to the minister of finance, Dadlani said.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com