COMMISSIONER-GENERAL of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, has lodged a formal complaint at the Brickdam Police Station, regarding an alleged threat from the publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall.

And Crime Chief, Mr. Leslie James yesterday disclosed that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is currently investigating the matter.
“Mr. Sattaur gave a statement and based on what is established from our investigations, we will act,” he said.
Standard Operating Procedures in similar matters require the lodging of one’s firearm, if the person making the alleged threat is a licensed firearm holder.
The Crime Chief explained that the CID’s investigations will determine whether or not this will be the required action to be taken in Lall’s case.

MADE IN AUGUST
The alleged threats to the GRA Head were made in late August when two vehicles used by Lall and his wife and alleged to be part of a remigrant duty-free scam were impounded by the Authority.
At the time Sattaur disclosed that he received a telephone call from a person “whose voice I recognised as Mr. Glen Lall” and was threatened.
He said, “Lall called me from an overseas number and threatened to expose me; he threatened to deal with me in a matter, as if I’m a thief and he’s going to do this thing, because I am using my office to deal with the matters I normally deal with.
“He threatened to use his newspaper to expose me; I don’t know what wrong I am doing. If I am trying to do the Government’s work…I don’t know why people should be upset, if they are doing wrong things, they should be subject to the laws as well.”
According to Sattaur such actions, the making of threats, are unconscionable.
“I am not acting vindictively. I am doing my work. Mr. Lall is not excluded from paying taxes,” the GRA Commissioner-General exclaimed.
The two vehicles in question, PRR 8398 and PRR 8399, which were handed over to GRA and impounded at the Authority’s warehouse, followed an hours-long standoff between GRA officials and Navin Sankar, a high-ranking GRA employee.
Six criminal charges altogether have since been filed against Lall, his wife Bhena, and Sankar’s parents, Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan, who have all been implicated in the scam.
An investigation was then launched to ensure that procedures and policy, as well as the provisions of the law were adhered to. The criminal charges, this newspaper understands, stem from that investigation.

DETAILS DISCLOSED
The seizure of the vehicles, as well as the resulting investigation and charges followed the disclosure of details of the alleged duty-free scam, which were made public by the Guyana Chronicle after an examination of the Government of Guyana’s review of the Remigrant Scheme.
The vehicle, PRR 8398, for instance, is usually parked in front of the Kaieteur News head office on Saffon Street, Charlestown, while PRR 8399 is often seen on Regent Street, in the heart of the city, near Bhena’s Footwear, the shoe business operated by Lall’s wife.
The Chronicle was able to obtain copies of all the relevant documents, from the application to, and approval by, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, GRA, and shipping information.
According to our sources, this issue started with the Brijnanans, who were on July 3, 2013 granted permission by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to return to Guyana as “remigrants”, along with the concomitant incentives of the scheme.
Under the remigrant programme, Guyanese who would have resided overseas for more than five years and are returning home to reside are entitled to a number of benefits, among which are import duty-free waivers for vehicles, and tax exemption for household items, once the items at reference were owned for six months or more in the country where the remigrant was living.
As husband and wife, Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan were entitled to concessions as two separate individuals, although a joint application was submitted.
A duty-free concession, we are told, is awarded on condition that “the motor vehicle cannot be leased or transferred within three years of registration, and providing that the registration licence, fitness and registration and insurance are submitted for inspection at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) every six months.”
The Brijananans, on their application form, indicated that besides household items, they were returning with two 2013 Lexus Suburban L57 vehicles, the chassis numbers of which were listed along with other required information.
On the application form, the chassis numbers for the vehicles were listed as JTJHY7AX7D4100270 and JTJHY7AX6D4094851, with the registration dates in the State of New York being September 25, 2012 and March 3, 2013 correspondingly.
However, on the Bill of Lading for the vehicles, the chassis numbers were listed as JTJHY7AX6D4096745 and JTJHY7AX6D4094851, respectively, a clear indication that one of the numbers did not correspond with the chassis number on the application form.
Further, for the vehicle bearing chassis number JTJHY7AX6D4094851, it was noticed that the date on the New York-issued Certificate of Title was March 3, 2013, which could only mean that the vehicle was not owned for more than six months before the application was made by the Brijnanans.
If true, this would be a clear violation of the regulation surrounding the application for remigrant status and duty-free concession. In essence, what would have occurred, according to documents perused by the Guyana Chronicle, is that the Brijnanans successfully obtained import duty concession in the sum of $4,222, 223.55 for each vehicle, totalling in excess of $8M.
Meanwhile, this newspaper’s research into the source price for a Lexus L570 is about US$80,000. Import duty for such a vehicle would be a total of US$94,500, bringing the total value of the vehicle to US$174,500, or more than G$36M for each of the vehicles imported by the Brijnanans.
It appears, therefore, that the Government was cheated out of several millions in import duty for the two vehicles.