On 12 February 2026, Jamaica's Minister of Finance and the Public Service tabled the Revenue Measures for Financial Year 2026/2027, which include a proposal to apply the General Consumption Tax (GCT) to digital services and intangibles supplied from abroad and consumed in Jamaica. Given that Jamaica already imposes a reverse charge GCT on imports of services by GCT-registered businesses, it is anticipated that this measure will focus on business-to-consumer supplies.

The specific categories of services that will be subject to the GCT have not yet been defined but are expected to include streaming services, e-books, audiobooks, software, app store purchases and other similar items.

Though the details on how this will be administered have not yet been released, it is anticipated that new obligations will be imposed on nonresident businesses supplying services to consumers in Jamaica. The announcement of the revenue measures referenced the "destination principle" of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), so the administration of the measure is likely to be informed by the OECD's VAT Digital Toolkit for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The measure is expected to become effective from early in calendar year 2027. Further legislative and administrative guidance is expected before the measure comes into effect.

No details have yet been released regarding registration thresholds, collection mechanisms or simplified compliance regimes for nonresident suppliers.

Implications

The explicit mention of the destination principle indicates an intention to align Jamaica's GCT framework with internationally accepted approaches to taxing cross-border digital supplies. However, the absence of detailed implementation rules means that the practical compliance impact on nonresident digital service providers remains uncertain.

Businesses supplying digital services or intangibles to Jamaican customers should monitor developments closely and begin assessing potential GCT registration, collection and reporting obligations once draft legislation and administrative guidance are issued.