AS at May 31, 2019, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) seized 1,057 gallons of fuel, the majority of which was seized in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GEA, Dr. Mahender Sharma, said the inspectors of the GEA conducted 5,536 site visits and collected a total of 11,492 samples of diesel, gasoline and kerosene throughout the country.

“Overt and covert operations, acting on information received, continue to be conducted throughout the country,” said Sharma in an invited comment. He said the task of tackling fuel smuggling requires the retention of a dedicated, trained staff complement of high integrity.

“Employing and retaining the services of personnel amidst integrity concerns often times result in an inconsistently-sized staff complement. Additionally, replacement of staff requires additional time and effort to train and equip employees with the requisite skills needed to effectively perform their tasks,” said Sharma.

Despite this, the GEA continues to work steadfastly in identifying and tackling fuel smuggling in Guyana. Sharma said the GEA continues to work closely with sister agencies including the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Police Force to identify and combat incidents of fuel smuggling.

When fuel is smuggled, taxes are not paid and the government loses revenue that could have been spent for the benefit of the country. Members of the public were encouraged to support the GEA’s efforts in tackling fuel smuggling.

Persons are asked to report suspected fuel smuggling activities to the GEA on 226-4424 ext. 239, 238 or 624-5905. It was reported early this year that Commissioner General of the GRA, Godfrey Statia, said that billions of dollars in revenues have been recouped from seizures of illegal fuel over the past three years, as the GRA continues to dent the ‘Black Market’ with support from its sister agencies.

“In Region One alone, over $375M was collected from fuel smuggling in 2018, while the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) recovered over $600M in duties, taxes and fines, of which $124M was a result of fines, and $119M from sales and auctions from seizures,” he said.

Having reinforced its presence at the frontier locations and shifted much of its Revenue Protection and Risk Management focus away from low risk and trusted traders, the GRA has been able to zero in on high-risk traders and smugglers.

The commissioner general said that while the GRA agrees that Section 205 of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01 enables it to place persons before the courts and have them imprisoned for no less than 12 months and not more than three years once convicted, such approach would clog the court system.