ATTORNEY GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, representing the Government of Guyana, was yesterday able to secure a US$1.5M reduction in a previous judgment by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for US$6M payable to Suriname beverage company, RUDISA. Williams told reporters yesterday outside the Court of Appeal, Kingston, that a formal agreement is to be made with the parties concerned, which would formalise the agreement. The hearing was facilitated via video conference with Justices of the CCJ in Trinidad, and representatives of the Surinamese company in Suriname.
The AG noted too the concern of the CCJ that Guyana continued to collect the “discriminatory” environmental tax. An agreement was made on the part of the Guyana Government to stop collecting the taxes by a specific date.
Addressing the discriminatory law under Guyana’s Customs Act, Williams noted there is a “Customs (Amendment) Bill that has been approved by the Cabinet [and] that is going to be going to Parliament.”
Williams said Guyana will be pursuing this action even though the law was “implied repealed,” since Guyana agreed to stop collecting the tax.
The environmental tax under the Customs Act was the essence of a legal battle between the Government of Guyana and the Surinamese beverage company, RUDISA International NV, in mid-2014.
The company made a case to the CCJ for return of monies paid in tax to the Guyana Government under an “environmental tax” clause. That clause was deemed “discriminatory” by the CCJ, which ordered the Guyana Government to pay the company $1.2B.
In a May, 2014 media release from the CCJ, the court ruling said, “A breach of the RTC (Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas) cannot be excused on the basis that the Government was unable to obtain from the National Assembly necessary amendments to domestic legislation.”
The release continued: “The CCJ held the claimants (RUDISA) were entitled to a declaration that the legislation was inconsistent with the RTC. The claimants were also entitled to be repaid the environmental taxes collected from them up to 2013, amounting to US$6,047,244.47.”
Additionally, the court had ordered Guyana to become compliant with the RTC, which outlines the responsibilities of member countries in CARICOM, and to file a report in late 2014 on compliance with such orders.
The matter before the CCJ involving Guyana and the Suriname Company stands adjourned until next Friday, by which time the Guyana Government is expected to draft the formal agreement.