GRA Commissioner-General Kurshid Sattaur and a staff member about to cut the anniversary cake at the City Mall yesterday.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday met with a good response as it hosted a ‘Taxpayers’ Interaction Day’ at the City Mall, Georgetown.

The initiative marked the 10th anniversary of the revenue authority and was held under the theme ‘Building on a decade of partnership and progress’.

Patrons of the popular city site were met by revenue authority staffers who engaged them in an effort to promote awareness on a range of issues. Among these were the tax return procedures, the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), property tax and other aspects of general information.

Mr. Rovin Stanley, GRA Public Relations Officer, said, “We value the partnership with taxpayers and this is why we decided to do this…At this forum we are able to sensitise the public on its role as taxpayers.”

He added that after 10 years, the advancement of collaboration between the public and the revenue authority is a priority.

Commissioner-General of GRA, Mr. Kurshid Sattaur, reiterated this and said “The general public has grown to accept us as an agency that is there to provide an important service.”

Sattaur said the partnership has resulted in the public being a main contributor to the “laudable developments of the GRA.”

The Commissioner General said 2009 has been one of resounding success and 2010 will see an advancement of efforts.

Among the successes he highlighted are the acquisition of a scanner to assist the customs operations which is soon to be implemented; the works on the almost completed warehouse located at Eccles on the East Bank of Demerara; massive institutional changes built around functionality; employment of cost effective mechanisms in routine operations; and transition to widespread use of information technology based systems.

“By any standard, we have done well with having over 250,000 registered on our system,” he said.

Sattaur added that the GRA will be working to increase tax collection in the future, but maintained that it will not involve increasing the burden on “already overtaxed Guyanese.”

The Commissioner General said the revenue authority will make advances in efficiency and target those guilty of tax evasion.

“We will become more efficient in collecting taxes from people who continue to evade us, people whom we are getting better in dealing with…we have programmes in place to address those who have not been honoring their obligations as they should,” he said.

On the same note, the Commissioner-General observed that the revenue authority’s staffers are being motivated as they are readied to address the issue of tax evasion.

Sattaur said 2010 will see more stringent measures in the law enforcement arena with the hope for greater level of success.

This, he noted, will level the playing field for business operations which are at a disadvantage because of these illegalities.

However, the Commissioner-General acknowledged the magnitude of the task and said the country has over 200 miles of unpatrolled borders.

“This is a significant area to cover, but we rely upon the limited resources we have in our enforcement arm who are very dedicated and hardworking. We depend on public spirited people also to report these activities to us,” he said.

Sattaur said the exact target for this year’s collection cannot be released as it is an amount to be made known in the General Assembly by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh.

However, he said, “Our revenue collection last year has exceeded expectations against the previous year…this year will see a bigger target set for the authority and we are rallying staff for the task ahead.”

The Commissioner-General called for continued support of the general public and said the expectation is voluntary compliance.

With regard to the private sector, Sattaur said the group has also assisted significantly in piloting new programmes of the revenue authority.

“They are the ones who have been very much aggrieved about some of our practices, the lack of transparency and speed in doing things…Thanks to their support, we have been able to make some turnarounds,” he said.

In particular, the Commission-General pointed to the Customs and Trade Administration operations which have improved, owing to the support of the private sector.

“I can proudly say today that over 90 per cent of the transactions lodged at the Customs and Trade Administration are dealt with in one and three days…This is due to the impetus given by the private sector,” Sattaur said.

Sattaur noted that massive new initiatives are in the pipeline for the New Year, the major one being the merger of all the Georgetown offices into one central location.
“By end of this year we hope to do this,” he opined.
Also he said the operations out of town are to be enhanced to bolster the tax collection.

“Last year we did a tremendous amount of work with infrastructure in the outlying regions, including Lethem, Corriverton, Linden and Parika…The endeavour this year is to make these offices highly functional and efficient,” he said.

“We have exceeded all expectations including achieving government expectations,” Sattaur reflected.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was established on the 27th January, 2000, and consists of the GRA Secretariat, Internal Revenue, Customs and Trade Administration and Value Added and Excise Tax.

The Guyana Revenue Authority replaced the former government departments of Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise Departments.

The organisation (GRA) is governed by a Board, and the Commissioner-General is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the day to day management of the organisation.

The entity’s mission is to promote compliance with Guyana’s Tax, Trade and Border Laws and Regulations, through education, quality service and responsible enforcement, thereby contributing to the economic and social well being of the people of Guyana.

The GRA draws its overall mandate from the Revenue Authority Act, the Customs Act, and the Income Tax Acts of Guyana. Under the Revenue Authority Act, the Governing Board of the Revenue Authority is accountable to the Minister of Finance and is responsible for:
* The approval and review of the policy of the Revenue Authority;
* The monitoring of the performance of the Revenue Authority in carrying out its functions, and
* The discipline and control of all members of staff of the Revenue Authority.