The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Friday said that motorists who may have been baffled or perturbed by the requirement to pay additional fees when renewing motor vehicle licences should take note that the 2016 Budget provided for an increase in motor vehicle licences and other fees effective March 14, 2016, under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act Cap: 51:02.The additional fees are related to motor vehicle licences and other fees, including Registration, Transfers, Certificate of Fitness, Driver’s Test of Competence, and General Dealers Licence etc. In a statement posted on its website, the Revenue Authority made it clear that prior to the passage of the 2016 National Budget, it had suspended the processing of transactions for Drivers’ licence, Transfer of Registration, Certificate of Fitness, Driver’s Test of Competence and General Dealer Licence, with the exception of the Sale of Motor Vehicle Licences.

“This exception was necessary since consideration was given to the difficulties that the Guyana Police Force would have encountered in taking enforcement action on delinquent motorists after the grace period of the Sale of Motor Vehicle Licences, given the fact that Motor Vehicle Licences now expire on the anniversary date of the motor vehicle registration and not on December 31, 2016,” the statement said.

Additionally, GRA said that as a result of the 2016 Budget, the increase in Motor Vehicle Licence fees were being charged effective from January 1, 2016 instead of March 14, 2016 when the bill was assented by the President; this has since been corrected.

“GRA wishes to advise that motorists with renewal dates between January 1 and March 13, 2016 were required to pay the old fee and any additional fees paid when the licences were renewed will be off-set on their next renewal date in 2018.”

Moreover, motorists with renewal dates between March 14 and December 31, 2016 were subject to the new / increase fees and any renewal done using the old fee would require paying the difference of the increase fee at the next renewal date in 2018.