THE Board of Directors of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has terminated the services of Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur, who, reacting to the decision, said he felt relieved and now looks forward to his full retirement benefits. A brief statement from the GRA on Thursday said the board took a unanimous decision to terminate the relationship between Sattaur and the Revenue Authority.
It was noted that this decision will take effect on March 1, 2016, and acting Commissioner General Ms Ingrid Griffith will continue to hold the post until further notice.
In December 2015, Sattaur was sent on 200 days administrative leave to facilitate an audit into operations of the GRA. He served as Commissioner-General for some 12 years.
Earlier this month, the GRA had cause to visit Sattaur’s home in order to repossess some of the properties belonging to the company.
GRA Chairman Rawle Lucas had revealed that while in the process of collecting all data from Sattaur, the authority requested that he (Sattaur) assist in identifying other persons who may have been or are in possession of property belonging to GRA.
GRA then learnt that Sattaur had in his possession six vehicles, including a golf cart.
However, the board informed that Sattaur should be left with one vehicle of his choice, but Commissioner General (ag) Ingrid Griffith “was considerate in leaving the golf cart with him.”
“So he has at least two vehicles that are property of the GRA. We were not interested in anything else but the taxpayers’ data. That’s all we were interested in,” Mr Lucas had said in relation to claims that Mr Sattaur’s home was invaded.
Mr Lucas has also disclosed that GRA Information Technology Division personnel were asked to go to Sattaur’s house to retrieve data following an agreement.
“We intended to ensure we kept that data in a separate folder,[one] identifiable by the source from which it was gotten, to make sure that we were not co-mingling any information which the Commissioner-General had collected while serving actively in the position with anything that was taking place after his departure on vacation. That was our sole interest,” he said.
These incidents, Mr Sattaur in a statement said that it appear to have been orchestrated to make it very uncomfortable for him to continue serving with dedication and sincerity.

He said: “I am therefore very much relieved that the Board probably sensing my discomfort has compassionately chosen to terminate my services after giving me the necessary notice and most optimistically would be providing me with my hard earned benefits, including my pension benefits up to my legal age of retirement on 31st October 2017, among other entitlement that applies to termination such as severance pay and my full leave passage entitlement. I now look forward for a peaceful retirement and to engage in less strenuous activities that would allow me to enjoy the benefits of my long and dedicated service to this country. I am very proud and feel most honoured to have served my country with dedication, commitment and distinction.”