Jamaica Tax Agency Issues Technical Advisory on Tax Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Sweetened Beverages

The Jamaican Tax Administration May 1 issued Technical Advisory No. 052026/01/GCT-TA, on the tax treatment of non-alcoholic sweetened beverages (NASBs) under amendments to the General Consumption Tax (GCT) Act. The advisory includes: 1) the special consumption tax (SCT) applies to sweetened beverages below 0.5 percent alcohol by volume that are ready to drink; 2) the SCT excludes liquid whole or skimmed milk, 100 percent juices without added sweeteners, exported NASBs, drinks sweetened at the point of sale, and specified types of concentrates for reconstitution; 3) the SCT rate is J$0.22 (US$0.0014) per gram of added sweetener, including added sugar and ...