Tax Administration Jamaica Addresses Matter of Public Procurement of Building in Mandeville, Manchester

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is currently undertaking the expansion of its capacity in central Jamaica, with the retrofitting of a new location in Greenvale, Mandeville, to efficiently and effectively, serve the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth at a cost of approximately J$1B. Currently, the Revenue Authority is serving the taxpayer population in that section of the island from two geographically separate locations, which significantly reduces its output to members of the surrounding communities. These retrofitting measures include upgrade to the facilities, environmentally sound considerations and digital capacities required of a modern-day tax facility. “On completion the new Revenue Service Centre (RSC) in Mandeville will replace two tax locations at South Race Course and Caledonia Avenue.”

Given the growth in the volume of transactions at the tax offices that serve Mandeville and surrounding communities it is necessary to engage in a comprehensive upgrade Given the growth in the volume of transactions at the tax offices that serve Mandeville and surrounding communities it is necessary to engage in a comprehensive upgrade. in order to better serve the public. With over 250,000 payment transactions plus other services yearly, the customer experience at the existing locations in Mandeville is restricted to standing room only inside the tax office with customers sometimes having to wait outside, seated under tents and exposed to the elements. Hence the need to replace the tax office with a full-service Revenue Service Centre similar to the Revenue Service Centre at Constant Spring in St. Andrew, with adequate waiting areas inside and sufficient parking space outside.

To achieve this TAJ required a large enough land space that was close to the centre of Mandeville. After an exhaustive search, the best option available to the TAJ was to enter into a long-term lease of a property on approximately 1 acre of land, which allows the TAJ to build what will be the 3rd largest Revenue Service Centre in Jamaica to serve the citizens of Mandeville. It is envisioned that Jamaicans in central Jamaica will also make use of this new facility.

This property was previously used as a Mega Mart outlet and is sub-leased from Cost Club Limited, the developers of the overall development in which the new Revenue Service Centre will be situated which includes other commercial enterprises. The lease is for 24 years with an option to renew. Scojampen Limited, the Bank of Nova Scotia Pension Fund, owns the property. The new lease arrangement will be advantageous to the GOJ, as the cost per square footage is less than what is currently being paid by TAJ in Mandeville.

To achieve this TAJ required a large enough land space that was close to the centre of Mandeville. After an exhaustive search, the best option available to the TAJ was to enter into a long-term lease of a property on approximately 1 acre of land, which allows the TAJ to build what will be the 3rd largest Revenue Service Centre in Jamaica to serve the citizens of Mandeville. It is envisioned that Jamaicans in central Jamaica will also make use of this new facility. 

This property was previously used as a Mega Mart outlet and is sub-leased from Cost Club Limited, the developers of the overall development in which the new Revenue Service Centre will be situated which includes other commercial enterprises. The lease is for 24 years with an option to renew. Scojampen Limited, the Bank of Nova Scotia Pension Fund, owns the property. The new lease arrangement will be advantageous to the GOJ, as the cost per square footage is less than what is currently being paid in Mandeville. 

The building is being retrofitted to provide expanded and improved services to central Jamaica to include:

• Larger capacity with seated service and queue management system for customers (similar to St. Andrew RSC)
• Environmentally friendly facility for electricity efficiency and lower daily maintenance
• Increased parking from 25 to 250 spaces
• Expanded e-Services to include a state-of-the-art e-Filing facility.

The unique requirements of the Revenue Service Centre dictate that a number of preparations have to be made to be fully functional. These include:

• Demolition works
• Sub-structure
• Walls and partitions
• Structural steel framing
• Installation of windows
• Floor, Wall, Ceiling finishes
• Joinery, Fixture and Furnishing
• Sanitary Fitting and Plumbing
• Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing
• Structured cabling
• Air conditioning system

Tax Administration Jamaica reiterates that GOJ procurement process requires a signed lease for property before commencing the procurement to engage technical and contracting services for works. The procurement process for renovating the space of the size leased for the RSC operations requires Cabinet’s approval and a consultant to manage the project. It therefore means two (2) separate procurement processes (one for the consultant) and another for the build-out contractor, which cumulatively can take up to fourteen months for completion. In addition to the lengthy timeframe for the process, the procurement for the building contractor failed on the basis that four (4) additional contractors in the category, which responded to TAJ’s invitation for bids, were added to the procurement platform after the expression of interest phase but before the date for return of bids in August 2, 2023.

TAJ is not only guided by the tenets of proper public procurement, as well as the needs and requirements of the environment within which it operates. Currently the Administration has to provide services to the central part of the country from two separate spaces, which diminishes the efficiency and efficacy of as Revenue Service Centre, a service feature that has been conceptualized to provide all tax services under one roof.

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) exists as the Government of Jamaica’s (GOJ) chief revenue collection authority, responsible for the administration of domestic taxes. This includes providing services to the Jamaican taxpaying public in the most efficient, cost effective manner, in keeping with the GOJ’s thrust to contain excessive spending without sacrificing quality public service delivery in furtherance of good governance.