About
JamaicaPCS will implement a facility whereby Shipping Lines and Agents will be able to create and deliver Electronic Import Delivery Orders (EIDO).
Before Importers or their Customs Brokers are allowed to pick up their import cargo, they are required to pay to the Shipping Line/Agent freight and related charges. In moving forward, the shipping Line/Agent will in turn create and immediately send electronically the Commercial Release for the Cargo and advise the Importers, Custom Brokers or their Agents of the Delivery Order.
Importers or their Agents will still retain the right to request and receive Original (hard copy ) Bills of Lading from the Shipping Agents; if they so desire.
Benefits
Traditionally, the Commercial Release of Import Cargo was done in the form of paper Import Delivery Orders’ (IDO) which passed from Shipping Line/Agent to Importer/Custom Broker to the Terminal. Due to the potential delays and errors in the physical preparation and movement of this paper, goods clearance activities were typically unpredictable and often severely hampered.
The PCS will change this process by optimizing and making the process fully electronic, ultimately resulting in an overall increase in productivity.
One of the main aims of the PCS is to improve the “Ease of Doing Business” within Jamaica. Several studies have shown that the introduction of electronic messaging for issuance of a Delivery Order instead of a paper based Delivery Order will result in considerable simplification in the Customs Clearance process, and can demonstrably reduce transaction costs and time taken in the clearance of Cargo – this is seen as an important trade facilitation measure.
