A DRAFT amendment to a contentious clause in Guyana’s Customs Act Chapter 82:01 has been presented to Cabinet as the Government will soon move to the National Assembly to amend the Law deemed as “discriminatory” by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Trinidad and Tobago. 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 Chronicle is unaware whether such a report was filed.
President David Granger, along with Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, met with the owner of the Surinamese company, Rudi Sardjoe, yesterday at the Ministry of the Presidency, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive.
“The judgment as of this morning [yesterday] stood at US$7.732M, and that included interest which was to the tune of about US$338,000, and of course legal cost in about US$120,000, and then the rest is really the principal judgment,” Minister Harmon told the press corps yesterday at a post-Cabinet press brief in the Ministry of the Presidency.

The initial sum, according to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, was because of Guyana’s contempt of court under the previous Administration. The new Administration, which came into power after the May 11 polls, was made aware of the ruling when Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams visited the CCJ in June.
Harmon noted that the ruling was not only for damages, but for a full refund of the monies paid to the State of Guyana by the company. The meeting between the company’s owner and President Granger saw a preliminary agreement made for a considerable reduction of the amount to be paid.
“We’ve also been able to achieve a longer period of time within which this judgment is to be paid,” Minister Harmon told reporters, adding that he could not say how much of a reduction was agreed to.
Meanwhile, the case will come up again today in the Caribbean Court of Justice. “We want to make this clear that we respect judgments from the court [and] that, as a law and rule-based country… and once they are final judgments then we accept also the consequences of our judgment,” Harmon continued.
Asked whether Government will be removing the discriminatory laws from the books to avoid further legal action, the Minister of State said, “Cabinet has already seen a draft of that legislation, and very shortly we will be bringing it to the National Assembly for that section of the law, which is discriminatory in nature to be expunged.”
The aim, according to Harmon, is to have “a levelled playing field for all parties.”