THE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has spoken out against a Kaieteur News article published September 16, 2012, calling on the public to take a stand against the cheap press in which this medium indulges.

“The Guyana Revenue Authority is aghast at the scandalous article that appeared in the Sunday September 16, 2012 edition of the Kaieteur News captioned “Four Officers demand $500,000 in bribes from business woman”, the GRA said in a release Monday.
“Such subjective reporting not only inflicts serious damage on the image of an organization that has sought to address issues of corruption, but it also besmirches the reputation of senior and other officials of the GRA,” the statement continues.
“The Kaieteur News has given objectivity a vehement push out the window in an effort to tint the facts and bewitch some members of the public into accepting the allegations of a corrupt individual as true, resulting in the sensationalising of the alleged involvement of the GRA officers, in order to serve the narrow self interest of the owner of the newspaper. It is time the public take a stand against such cheap press.
“The GRA is extremely perturbed about the misuse and abusive manner in which persons today are using the electronic media, who are wont to make statements that are extremely damaging to the public image of public institutions, based on allegations and what passes for a free press in this country.
“Further, Mr. Narayan ought to know better than to try persons in the press amidst allegations by a corrupt individual and without a shred of credible evidence. What the public should know is that the taxpayer made false claims of being a miner and fraudulently obtained letters from the recommending agencies which were used to obtain duty free exemption letters from the GRA. Her fraudulent act was unearthed when a canter carrying one of the ATVs was intercepted by the GRA’s Law Enforcement arm, and investigations were carried out.
“The taxpayer claimed to be a miner, but when the GRA informed her that they will verify same with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Gold Board, she recanted, stating that she was not a miner. She stated that she had mining operations during two different periods that were not legally registered. In breach of the conditions under which the exemptions were granted, she sold the ATVs. The taxpayer was told to bring forward the legitimate miners in order to have the claims regularised and the exemption granted to them. To date, this has not been done. She has also breached several provisions of the tax laws for which there are severe penalties.
“Further, the taxpayer has not been able to identify one officer whom she alleges demanded bribe inspite of opportunities given to her to see several staff at a meeting at GRA. She kept changing her allegations day after day, and has not provided any evidence to substantiate the allegations she has made. How can the GRA chasten an official based on mere allegations, without evidence? The GRA cannot operate on the whims and fancies of a corrupt individual. It is a criminal offence to offer, as well as to accept bribes; and the GRA will not condone either of these.
“For any fair-minded person to have used the article and pronounced on the level of corruption within the GRA would not only be doing the GRA a grave injustice, but themselves as well, if they are to be taken seriously as right thinking and just individuals and credible members of society. The Kaieteur News should desist from spewing such reckless and scurrilous reports and spend time gathering the facts.

“Finally, let me remind the readership that the GRA prides itself with having put measures in place to weed out corruption, and law abiding citizen should first seek to test the veracity of their wanton claims before subjecting the entity to ridicule and being stigmatised in order to serve some narrow and selfish interest and or agenda,” concluded GRA Commissioner General Kurshid Sattaur.