The Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), through its Intelligence, Investigation and Enforcement Unit (IIEU) and legal team, recently prosecuted three entities for breaching the General Consumption Tax Act (GCTA) and collected over $20 million in fines.

In a statement today, TAJ said the establishments are New Panda Food Limited, Bodyscape Rejuvenation Centre Limited and Castillo Funny Club Entertainment.

TAJ said the companies breached section 56 (5) of the GCTA, which states that “a person, not being a registered taxpayer, who collects tax, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction in a resident magistrate’s court to a fine not exceeding five million dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and imprisonment.”

The court was informed by representatives of TAJ’s Legal Unit that between February 28, 2025 and March 12, 2025, the taxpayer, New Panda Food Limited, unlawfully collected GCT from its customers while not being registered to do so.

Consequently, two charges were brought against the company.

On July 23, 2025, New Panda Food Limited, by way of its Director, Dong Wang, pleaded guilty to both counts in the Sutton Street Tax Court in Kingston.

Counsel representing the company stated that, as part of their plea mitigation, the company, which started in 2023, was given bad advice and has since been registered.

The company was sentenced to a total of $1 million, and failure to pay the fine would result in the Director facing 60 days’ imprisonment.

Regarding Bodyscape Rejuvenation Centre Limited, TAJ said the court was told that on February 26, 2025 and March 8 2025, the entity located at Mannings Hill Road in St. Andrew unlawfully collected GCT from its customers while not being a registered taxpayer.

The company was charged with two counts of collecting GCT due to the fact that they were not registered to do so.

The company, through its Director Chantelle-Lee Barrett, pleaded guilty on July 23, 2025, to the offences in the Sutton Street Tax Court in Kingston.

The company was charged $3 million for the offences.

Failure to pay would result in the Director facing 90 days’ imprisonment.

The fines were subsequently paid.

In the other case, Montego Bay businessman Wellington Amarico Castello Guerro, trading as Castillo Funny Club Entertainment, pleaded guilty in the St. James Parish Court to twelve breaches of collecting GCT without being registered.

The court was told that during the auditing process, anomalies were discovered by the audit team, which uncovered significant underreporting.

The matter was subsequently reported to the IIEU.

TAJ, through its Legal Unit, told the court that from 2020 to 2022 the entity provided entertainment services for several hotels in St. James and Trelawny.

It was further stated that the businessman collected approximately $15 million in GCT whilst being an unregistered taxpayer.

He was fined $17 million for twelve offences.

Tax Administration Jamaica is reminding all business operators and self-employed individuals that registration for GCT is mandatory once their taxable turnover exceeds the threshold of $15 million annually.

Additionally, taxpayers who collect taxes on behalf of the Government are legally obligated to remit those funds in full and on time.

TAJ stressed that it will use the law to address tax evasion and fraudulent activity.