KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) today launched the pilot phase of a Direct Funds Transfer Project, aimed at improving the process by which customers transfer funds to TAJ’s bank accounts for the payment of taxes and fees.
The agency said under the new arrangements, all funds transferred to TAJ’s bank must include a direct funds transfer number (DFTN), generated from the TAJ website, for it to be receipted.
This will remove the need for a manual Direct Banking Form (DB01) to be later submitted. Customers will now also able to print their official receipt, instead of having to retrieve it at a later date from a tax office.
TAJ said with the implementation of the pilot, customers who previously used the manual direct banking option will need to switch to another electronic payment option or to begin using the alternate direct funds transfer (DFT) Payment Option.
This semi-automated DFT option requires customers to generate a Payment Advice on their Revenue Administration Information System Account (RAIS), on the TAJ website at www.jamaicatax.gov.jm, which has been enhanced to include a Direct Funds Transfer Number (DFTN).
When transferring the funds to TAJ’s bank account the customer is required to enter the DFTN in the particulars/memo field, thereby communicating to TAJ the information for the receipting of the funds. The use of the DFTN will enable the RAIS to automatically generate the receipts for the payments, which may then be printed by the customer. It should be noted that unless a DFTN is available for a transaction, a receipt cannot be generated. During the pilot phase, TAJ staff will contact customers whose transactions do not have a DFTN to request that they generate and provide the DFTN to allow for the receipting of the funds.
The agency said this process will mitigate the challenges currently being experienced by its administration in identifying and receipting funds under the previous direct banking arrangements. The project is designed to reduce and subsequently remove the existing manual direct banking arrangements and move towards a fully automated direct bank transfer solution.
Customers are reminded that there are several other electronic payment options available that doesn’t require them to visit a Tax Office, and are encouraged to use any of the following:
ACH Debit Option (BNS) – Customers of BNS can utilize existing Electronic Payment via their TAJ Revenue Administration Information System (RAIS) online account (available for Scotiabank Customers ONLY) on the TAJ Enterprise Portal. Users will be able to generate and print their official receipt from the website.
Bill Payment Option (NCB) – Customers of NCB can utilize the new payment option via NCB Bill Pay. This option is currently available for NCB personal and business customers to add TAJ as a payee to pay business related taxes and fees, such as GCT, Income Tax, Payroll Deductions and Property Tax. Customers will be able to use the reference number generated from the payment on the NCB online platform, to generate and print their official receipt from the TAJ website.
Credit Card Option – All customers can utilise a credit card or use a debit, pre-paid or other payment card that has credit card features, which is being offered by several banks and other financial institutions, to make payments via the TAJ website www.jamaicatax.gov.jm.
TAJ, through its Large Taxpayer Office and Revenue Service Centres, will continue engaging customers to support their transition to the new arrangements. Additional meetings will be held with other key stakeholders, such as Financial Institutions, the Accountant General, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ).
For further information, customers assigned to the Large Taxpayer Office may contact their Client Relationship Manager, other customers may contact a Taxpayer Education Officer, the TAJ Customer Care Centre at 888-TAX-HELP (888-829-4357) or access relevant “How To” guides on the TAJ website at www.jamaicatax.gov.jm.