Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, the Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn speaking at a Jamaica Information Service Think Tank session on October 30.
Over 8000 import and export permits have been approved by the Trade Board Limited, through the Jamaica Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) portal, since June 2020.
JSWIFT is a single electronic platform providing fully automated access to all cross-border regulatory agencies, enabling traders and their representatives to transact all businesses online.
The one-stop-shop allows importers and exporters to apply for licenses, permits, certificates, and any other international trade-related documents through a single portal.
Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service Think Tank session on October 30, Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr the Hon Norman Dunn said, the Government has been pursuing several initiatives in the last few years to improve the business and trade environment in Jamaica.
“The purpose of the Government is to create an enabling environment for our stakeholders to ensure that they receive the optimal service from us because we are their steady partner in realising greater efficiency,” he said.
“JSWIFT is a great example that we are utilising to show this approach [that the] Government can institute a portal that will ensure that persons can do …online transactions and to ensure that it is done in the shortest possible time,” he added.
The Trade Board Limited is the first Cross-Border Regulatory Agency to pilot the full-scale implementation of JSWIFT, with the integration of export facilitation services done in June and the incorporation of import facilitation services in July.
Dr. Dunn noted that the Trade Facilitation Unit and the Ministry, have been very responsive to the feedback from the users of the platform, with several modifications made since its implementation earlier this year.
“We want to commend the Trade Facilitation Unit and the entire Ministry that have worked assiduously on this project, they identified solutions when the issues are brought to their attention and their quick action with the various partners have allowed for us, for the first implementer (Trade Board Limited) to form solutions for the issues,” he explained.
JSWIFT is being implemented, hosted and operated by the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) on behalf of the Government of Jamaica.
Source: JIS
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