2009-05-05

Companies Office of Jamaica to Offer Amnesty

The Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) will be offering a six-month amnesty which will allow a range of charitable organizations to file their outstanding documents at reduced cost. The amnesty will also see the waiving of penalties for late submissions.

Making the announcement in Parliament this afternoon, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, the Hon. Karl Samuda said this move will be implemented in the next financial year, following Cabinet approval.

The Minister, who was making his contribution to the Budget Debate, said organizations to benefit include service clubs, churches and non-profit organizations which will be able to file documents such as annual reports, income and expenditure reports at reduced fees of between 20% and 75%.

He pointed out that Companies Office would also be upgrading its web services to facilitate electronic registration to certain company documents and new businesses, and would also be implementing a new organizational structure to improve its service to customers.

Reviewing the performance of the COJ for the financial year just ended, Minister Samuda said one major achievement was its collaboration with Jamaica Trade & Invest to register Micro, Small and Medium Sized enterprises, and to conduct search services to customers islandwide.