–to stop GRA levying on rest of its assets

By Gabriella Chapman

JUSTICE Franklin Holder on Monday granted an injunction restraining the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) from levying on more Friendship Hotel and Restaurant Holdings’ immovable assets.

The judge’s decision followed his hearing from the plaintiff’s lawyer, Anil Nandlall, the grounds on which the injunction was filed, before ruling in the company’s favour until the hearing and determination of the Statement of Claim, or further order of the court.

It was in response to an application for an injunction restraining not just the GRA, but the First Marshal, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, and the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority from taking any further steps in concluding levy execution on the applicant’s properties.

In its Statement of Claim, Friendship Holdings, owners of the Vlissengen Road buildings which formerly housed KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, is contending that the execution of sale by the respondents was irregular, unlawful and illegal.

Nandlall explained in his oral presentations that on July 20, 2011, two statements certified by the GRA Commissioner-General setting forth an amount due by the applicant’s corporation tax and property tax, were produced to the registrar of the Supreme Court.

The first certificate certified that the applicant owes GRA some $72,396,079 in corporation tax, while the second certified that they owe another $12,542,587 in property tax.
He further pointed out that on October 21, 2016, Justice Navindra Singh granted judgment in the amount specified in the two certificates at reference, and that in August 2018, two Writs of Execution, on moveable and immovable property, were issued by the High Court.

Nandlall said that after the writs were issued, Friendship Holdings’s Managing Director, Deonarine Singh entered into an agreement with GRA that he would have the properties sold, since he had some interested buyers who were willing to pay in excess of $100,000,000 per property.

Both parties, he said, agreed that the properties would be sold by the applicant, and that the debt owed GRA would be paid off. He further noted that it was also agreed that there would be no definite timeline in which the applicant was required to pay off said debts.
Nandlall said that GRA Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia had even recorded the said agreement and sent his client a letter acknowledging it.
However, after all this, in September, a Marshal of the High Court accompanied by a GRA enforcement officer visited the applicant’s company and proceeded to levy on the immovable property, which action was carried out unknowing to the applicant.

The properties were then advertised in the Official Gazette to be sold on October 16, 2018 at an auction sale, and at the auction, they were sold to one bidder for the total sum of approximately $70M.

Nandlall said the applicant only found out about the sale when a Demerara Bank representative called to inform him of what was happening. As such, he is contending that GRA’s representation was false, and was made negligently and in breach of the duty of care owed to owner of the properties.

According to Nandlall, each property is worth far in excess of $70M, and that as confirmed by Certificates of Valuation prepared by Valuation Officer, Denroy Livan, all the properties combined are worth just over $1B. This, he said, puts the applicant in a position to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

The properties have been auctioned, but the sale was not completed, as transport has not been passed to the purchaser. However, the respondents have begun the process of distributing the proceeds of sale and transferring them to the purchaser, hence the reason for the injunction filed.

The injunction was granted, but the applicant is also suing for damages of in excess of $100M against the defendants for irregular, unlawful and illegal levy execution; damages of in excess of $100M against the defendants for illegal sale of execution; damages against GRA for negligent misrepresentation; and damages against the registrar for negligence.
The respondents, who will be represented by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, were given time to respond to the claims made by the applicant, and the matter will be heard again on February 5, 2019.