THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG), the local branch of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), is being called upon to confirm, inter alia, that it has launched an investigation into the conduct of the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) Commissioner-General, Mr. Khurshid Sattaur.

The call was made via a letter to the Institute by Sattaur’s legal representative, Mr. Mahendra Satram, pointing out that at no point has his client been informed that there was an investigation underway.
“It is highly irregular for the Association to commence or conduct an investigation or inquiry without notifying the affected member,” Satram is quoted as saying in the missive, adding:
“For this reason, it is suspected that these publications may be fabrications on the part of the aforementioned persons. However, the silence of the Association and its executives leaves room for speculation.”
According to the letter, the Institute is also being called on to:
* Confirm what is the nature of the purported investigation, if any;
* Advise whether the Institute has communicated with the embattled Kaieteur News, as indicated in an article published on Wednesday, under the headline ‘Accounting body launches probe against GRA’s Chief over tax info leaks’;
* Issue a clear and unequivocal statement denouncing the “unsubstantiated and malicious attacks designed to malign the character” of the GRA Head, as well as to forestall the execution by the Authority of its statutory duty and mandate; and
* Publicly articulate their position on the illegally obtained taxpayer information.

Said Satram, “My clients will pursue their statutory duties and obligations with professionalism and rectitude… my clients view these developments as alarming and distressing and expect the Institute to disassociate itself from such reprehensible conduct. I anticipate your expeditious response and action.”

UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS

The attorney-at-law added that the fact that the Kaieteur News has suggested that ICAG has not only commenced investigations against Mr. Sattaur, but may have already formed an opinion on the issues is troubling.
“We have noted (this) with disgust and consternation,” he said, adding that the claims are unfounded allegations.
Satram stated too that ICAG must take into consideration several things, including:
* The public statement by the GRA confirming that there were “illegal disclosures and unlawful transmission of sensitive taxpayer information, personal information on the Head of GRA and other internal workings” of the Authority;
* The position of the GRA regarding how this information was released and by what means Mr. Lall obtained them; and
* The statement from the GRA, which maintains that the four e-mails, which have been published repeatedly by the embattled Kaieteur News over the past few days, are false.
The lawyer was emphatic in stressing that there is a move to “avoid and stultify” an impending audit of the operations of Kaieteur News. “These self-serving statements and allegations are designed to force Mr. Sattaur and the GRA to abandon an investigation into the tax affairs of the aforementioned individuals,” Satram opined.
He pointed out that the work of the GRA’s Commissioner-General has resulted in criminal charges being filed against the publisher of the Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall.
Satram said, “Subsequent to and as a consequence of the institution of these charges Lall commenced a campaign in his daily newspaper to smear and blemish the sterling character of the Commissioner-General.
“It appears that the Institute is an unwitting participant in the malicious and vindictive campaign by Glenn Lall and Kaieteur News to malign and disparage the character of Mr. Sattaur and to bring the GRA into disrepute.”

ISSUES

In early September, Lall was alleged to have evaded taxes for over a decade now. Reports are that Mr. Lall, the owner of the Guyana National Media Publishing Company, is being investigated by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for the importation of printing ink packaged as a CARICOM (Caribbean Community) product, which enjoys duty free concessions under the Revised Treaty of Chaguramas. Upon closer inspection, however, it was allegedly found that the origin of the inks was from overseas, and therefore in breach of the Treaty. As it relates to the progress of the investigation of the alleged tax evasion, the Guyana Chronicle has been given to understand that the necessary verification requests are still with the relevant authorities in Trinidad and Tobago.
Prior to the tax evasion allegation, Mr. Lall was fingered in an alleged remigrant duty-free concession scam.
Six criminal charges altogether have been since filed against Lall; his wife Bhena; and Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan, who have all been implicated in the scam. Lall and his wife have since been arraigned on four of these charges. The charges follow the seizure of two vehicles allegedly at the centre of a duty-free scam. The two vehicles in question, PRR 8398 and PRR 8399, were handed over to GRA and impounded at the Authority’s warehouse at the end of August, after an hours-long standoff between GRA officials and the Brijnanans’ son, Navin Sankar, a high-ranking GRA employee. 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.
Also, in mid-September, both Lall and his wife were sued by acting Town Clerk of the Mayor and City Council, Ms Carol Sooba, for the sum of $5,660,142.00 and $60,142 as unpaid rates and taxes for the years 2004 to 2013 in relation to their property at 24 Saffon Street.
The case is currently being heard at the Georgetown Magistrates Court. In a defence seen by this newspaper and filed by attorney-at-law, Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, the Lalls claim that they had a set-off arrangement with the City Council, and they are not indebted for the taxes and that they repaid these taxes by publication of advertisements in the Kaieteur News. However, a source in the accounting department at City Hall denies any such arrangement. “There is certainly no document in writing to this effect,” the source disclosed.
Additionally, the Kaieteur News has been slapped with countless lawsuits and injunctions for libel.