The Import Process | Petrolex Auto Imports

The four parts of an import

An import is long enough that it helps to think of it in four parts. The tracker groups the stages the same way, so you always know which part you are in even when a stage takes a while.

1 · Order & Deposit

Order Submitted → Deposit Required → Deposit Confirmed

You tell us the vehicle. We confirm what it will cost landed, issue an invoice, and you place the deposit. Nothing is bid on before the deposit is confirmed, because the deposit is what commits us at the auction.

Typical: a few days, driven by how quickly the deposit clears.

2 · Sourcing & Purchase

Vehicle Sourced → Customer Approved → Vehicle Purchased

We find candidates at auction and send you the sheet, the grade and the photographs. You approve one. We bid and buy. If we are outbid we go again at no extra cost to you.

Typical: one to three weeks, depending on how specific the vehicle is.

3 · Export & Shipping

Export Processing → Vessel Booked → Shipped → In Transit

De-registration and export papers in Japan, then a sailing. You get the vessel name, the ETD and the ETA, and the Bill of Lading once it is issued.

Typical: four to eight weeks on the water to Kingston.

4 · Arrival & Handover

Arrived Jamaica → Customs Clearance → Registration → Ready for Collection → Delivered

Discharge, entry and duty, then registration and plates. The balance is settled before release, and then the vehicle is yours to collect or have delivered.

Typical: one to three weeks from berthing, customs depending.

All fifteen stages

Your tracker moves through these in order and never backwards. Most stages move on their own as the underlying fact changes — a confirmed payment, a milestone from the shipping line — rather than waiting for somebody to remember to update them.

Stage 1

Order Submitted

Your order exists and has a reference of its own — ORD-2026-0001 in that shape. Quote it in any email or WhatsApp message about this vehicle. We do: confirm specification and landed cost.

Stage 2

Deposit Required

An invoice has been issued to you carrying the deposit figure, the payment reference to quote and the banking instructions. You do: pay the deposit and, if you paid by bank transfer, upload the proof. Never send funds without your invoice number and surname on them (for example PAI-2026-0105 WILLIAMS) — a bare amount cannot be matched to a vehicle.

Stage 3

Deposit Confirmed

Accounts has seen the money at the bank and issued your receipt. Your balance updates the moment that happens. We do: begin sourcing.

Stage 4

Vehicle Sourced

We have a candidate: auction sheet, grade, mileage, photographs and the price it should go for. We do: send it to you.

Stage 5

Customer Approved

You do: say yes to that specific vehicle, in writing. We bid on nothing you have not approved.

Stage 6

Vehicle Purchased

Won at auction. The chassis number is now fixed and appears on your order — from here everything, including your documents, is tied to that number.

Stage 7

Export Processing

De-registration, export certificate, and the pre-shipment inspection where the destination requires one. We do: get the vehicle to the port of loading.

Stage 8

Vessel Booked

A named sailing with an ETD and an ETA. Both appear in your account and on your tracker, and both are the shipping line's estimates rather than promises.

Stage 9

Shipped

Loaded and sailed. The Bill of Lading is issued around now and is filed to your account as an import document — you will not have to ask us to send it again.

Stage 10

In Transit

On the water. You do: nothing, and this is the longest quiet stretch of the whole process. Four to eight weeks is normal for Japan to Kingston.

Stage 11

Arrived Jamaica

Berthed and discharged at the port of entry. You do: settle the outstanding balance if any of it is still open, because customs entry follows immediately.

Stage 12

Customs Clearance

Entry lodged, duties and fees assessed and paid, examination if selected. Duty is assessed by Jamaica Customs on their own valuation, not on what you paid — we tell you the figure as soon as we have it.

Stage 13

Registration

Registration, plates and fitness. You do: provide your TRN and valid ID if we do not already hold them.

Stage 14

Ready for Collection

Cleaned, checked and waiting for you at 8 Dunrobin Avenue. We do: call you to arrange handover and the inspection check sheet you will sign.

Stage 15

Delivered

Keys handed over, documents signed, title in your name. Everything you signed stays in your account.

What you pay, and when

Deposit — on order, against an issued invoice. It commits us at the auction and is what starts sourcing.
Balance — before release, once the vehicle has arrived and been assessed.
Duties and port charges — assessed by Jamaica Customs on arrival. Our quotation states whether these are included or payable separately; read that line carefully before you commit.
Registration and fitness — the statutory fees, at cost.

Every payment is matched to an invoice or order reference and produces a receipt in your account. Payment methods and bank details.

What we need from you

Valid government-issued photo ID
TRN
Proof of address
The signed order form and the import agreement
Proof of payment for each transfer, if you pay by bank

Blank copies of every form are on the Documents page, and once your order is live the signed versions appear in your account by themselves.

FROM A JAPANESE AUCTION TO YOUR DRIVEWAY.

The four parts of an import

1 · Order & Deposit

2 · Sourcing & Purchase

3 · Export & Shipping

4 · Arrival & Handover

All fifteen stages

What you pay, and when

What we need from you

Tell us what to look for

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Billing & Management

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