TAJ helping customers in transition period

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is ramping up support for customers as the country transitions to the new electronic Motor Vehicle Registration and Fitness System, which officially came into effect on July 21.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on July 18, TAJ’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Meris Haughton, assured that mechanisms are already in place to help customers navigate the changes and access the information they need.

“Right now on our website, there is an information hub that’s available… . You can log on to it. It has a bank or frequently asked questions. Because I know persons have questions, there is a bank of frequently asked questions on our website,” Haughton said.

She pointed to the website, www.jamaicatax.gov.jm as the primary digital space for updates related to the new system.

“They’ll be able to see those questions and responses to those questions, and it is on that same hub that you’ll be able to see any other [information] that we push out that relates to the new motor-vehicle registration as it takes effect,” she said.

She emphasised that the hub is not static and will be continuously updated based on public queries and feedback.

“If there are additional questions that we had not factored in, we’ll always be adding. Once we have questions that we have not gotten from persons before, we will add those questions and the responses, so that anybody coming on and checking on our site will be able to get that information available,” Haughton noted.

TAJ is also leveraging its social media presence to keep the public informed. “We have a lot of information that’s always also available on our social media pages, and that’s @jamaicatax. You can just look it up and you’ll find information that we continuously push out,” she said.

In preparation for in-person visits, TAJ has made arrangements to assist customers directly at its offices.

“When persons come into our offices, we will have a number of persons in our banking halls who will be assisting persons to navigate the changes. We’ll have our banking hall managers, they’ll advise you what to do, but make sure you have an email address,” she explained.

She added that TAJ is also providing free digital resources in offices. “If you don’t have one [email address] that you have worked with, we’ll assist you to set one up. We have Wi-Fi that will be made available in our offices as well as machines that, if so needed, then we’ll assist you with that as well,” she said.

“We are just encouraging persons to look at this as something that is positive. It means that Jamaica is moving into the digital highway, and we are there on that highway with it,” she said.