PIOJ Growth-Inducement Strategy - Planning Institute of Jamaica

Current Status: Cabinet by decision 42/10 dated November 15, 2010 gave approval for:
the enactment of a new Secured Transactions framework
the issuance of drafting instructions to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel coupled
with amendments to existing legislation where there was need for consequential
amendments.
These instructions were issued in January 2011 and it is anticipated that the legislation
which will require extensive consultation will complete the legislative process in
approximately 18 months.
3. Credit Bureau
In an effort to increase efficiency in the loan market by adopting a more definitive
strategy of assessing credit risk, increasing access to finance and ultimately reducing
lending rates to borrowers with a good financial track record, GOJ committed to the
introduction of Credit Bureaus. To this end, the Credit Reporting Act received
Parliamentary approval on August 31, 2010 and was brought into effect on October 1,
2010. The attendant regulations were finally approved on January 13, 2011.
Current Status: The regulations have not yet been gazetted. While such gazetting is
imminent, the regulations are, therefore, not yet in force. This precludes the BOJ from
formally accepting any applications seeking to establish a Credit Bureau. To date, there
are at least three seemingly serious expressions of interest in establishing a Credit
Bureau. It is anticipated that within six months at least one fully functional Credit
Bureau will be operational.
4. Probate and Land Transfer
It is proposed that all duties and rates attached to the process of probate be abolished. The
current system is operating at a sub-optimal level, with 50 – 60 per cent of estates not
being probated as the potential beneficiaries are fearful of being forced to liquidate their
inheritance in order to satisfy the onerous government rates and up-front charges
applicable to decedent estates.
Table A.1 provides a detailed listing of the rates and charges typically paid in a standard
probate transaction.
This issue is compounded by an onerous and costly legal mechanism particularly when
parts or all of the estate need to be liquidated. This has led to a scenario where the
majority of estates which would ordinarily be subjected to a process of probate are left
idle or underutilized, with the beneficiaries being unable to use the property as collateral
for credit. It is acknowledged that there is the likelihood of some revenue loss in the
market period from removing duties and rates, but it is projected that such revenue would
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