Samuda
Some charitable organisations that are delinquent in filing outstanding documents can now do so at reduced cost.
The Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) has rolled out an initiative to allow companies limited by guarantee without a share capital to bring their filings up to date with the COJ at a reduction of between 50 and 75 per cent.
The three-month amnesty, which began September, will also see the waiving of penalties for late submissions.
The categories of organisations tar-geted by the COJ amnesty are service clubs, churches, non-profit organisations and non-govern-mental organisations.
Over 70 per cent of the 3,395 such organisations recorded by the COJ have been delinquent since April.
Outstanding documents
Speaking to journalists at the launch of the COJ's charities, amnesty at its conference room in New Kingston on Tuesday, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, said that too many companies failed to file their outstanding documents.
"We are seeking to give this amnesty in the expectation that these organisations will take advantage of this particular facility that we are extending," the minister said.
He argued that the amnesty was Government's way of supporting these organisations in difficult financial times.
"Recognising the difficulties that these organisations have, we have to give them as much support as possible, by enabling them over this period to experience a reduction in cost," Samuda explained.
These organisations will be able to file documents such as annual returns, income and expenditure statements and statutory declarations.
However, the minister did have a warning to those organisations which remained delinquent.
"We won't hesitate to go the full measure of the law in making sure that these delinquent accounts are brought up to date. But we don't want to go there first and that was the decision taken, that we wanted to extend this plan in order to help all the organisations to benefit from making payment at this time," said Samuda.
nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com