…says LOO sheltering under presidential immunity

COMMISSIONER General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Godfrey Statia, has called on Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Bharrat Jagdeo to honour his tax obligations.

“He should also honour his tax obligations like every other citizen. He is reminded that contrary to his earlier statements in the press that he is not required to, he has an obligation to file his tax returns and declare his income from all sources rather than sheltering under the veil of presidential immunity,” Statia said in a letter to the media on Friday.

He was responding to claims by Jagdeo that the GRA was involved in irregular practices. Statia specifically referred to the Friday, June 7, 2019 edition of Kaieteur News, and more recently in the June 17 edition of the Guyana Times, where Jagdeo stated that the GRA seized and disposed of hundreds of luxury vehicles that never made it to the register for want of entry, were never auctioned, but were fraudulently transferred and found their way into the hands of people sympathetic to the government or “given to family and friends” resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue.

He specifically alluded to two land cruisers with Venezuelan registration numbers, and stated that he has and will supply the evidence.
Referring to Jagdeo, Statia said Section 13 of the Income Tax Act clearly states that only his official emoluments shall be exempt from taxes.

“I have said it before and I repeat, politicians need to refrain from statements which impugn the character of public servants and agencies that serve the public under the guise of purported parliamentary privilege. Mr. Jagdeo as the opposition leader has a moral and legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others and follow the laws of Guyana by not encouraging officers of the GRA to break their strict duty of confidentiality. I will not delve into the Kaieteur News article as to his imported vehicle since I honour the laws that the GRA administers, and I adhere to the strict doctrine of confidentiality.”

According to the GRA Commissioner-General, he is usually dissuaded from responding to statements in the press when made by politicians, and especially those whom “I deem to be leaders, or previous leaders who held the highest positions in government, and had direct influence and responsibility over the administration and the laws that govern the authority.” However, Statia said when such statements are misleading, filled with innuendos and allegations of fraud, create public mischief, and are meant to tarnish the efforts at rebuilding the reputation of the agency that he heads, he is forced to respond.

SALE OF LETHEM VEHICLES
On the issue of the sale of vehicles, Statia said the Guyana Revenue Authority confirms that two vehicles – manufactured over eight years ago – were duly seized from a repeat offender in mid-December 2018, and not in May 2019 as alleged by Mr. Jagdeo. “They were forfeited in February 2019 in accordance with section 225 of the Customs Act for failure to produce the pertinent customs declarations and supporting documents.”

The GRA boss quoted Section 225(2) of the Customs Act which states that, “all seizures lawfully made under the customs laws or any other law shall be deemed to be taken and condemned and may be sold or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the comptroller may direct.”

The two motor vehicles, because of age, location and condition with exposure to elements of weather, had deteriorated significantly which may have caused mechanical and electrical damages and rendered same unserviceable, Statia said, adding that to prevent a total loss of revenue, the GRA found it prudent to invoke the relevant provisions of the Customs Act and disposed the motor vehicles accordingly.

“The authority will not disclose any additional information in relation to this subject, since it has strict duty of confidentiality and must adhere to those rules in accordance with the provisions of the Revenue Authority Act, Chapter 79:01. The process of registering motor vehicles is fully automated and cannot in any way be manipulated and ‘backdated’ as alleged.”

VEHICLE DISPOSAL
Further explaining the process of disposing of vehicles, Statia said there are generally two categories of vehicles disposed of by the Guyana Revenue Authority – Want of entry vehicles and seized motor vehicles.

Want of Entry vehicles are disposed of, by way of sealed bids, after the said vehicles are placed in the official gazette and subsequently advertised if claims were not made during the mandated claim period. He said sealed bids were introduced in late 2016 for the very reason of collusion and revenue loss.

According to him, interested bidders are given the opportunity to examine the assets before submitting the actual bids. The award goes to the highest bidder once the bid is equal or above an amount sufficient to pay all duties, expenses, rent and charge.

However, Statia explained if he/she fails to honour his/her obligations as the awardee, the motor vehicles may be re-advertised or the Commissioner-General may dispose of same in accordance with Section 90 (4) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01 which provides that “If any goods on being offered for sale as aforesaid cannot be sold for a sum sufficient to pay all duties, expenses, rent and charges, the same may be destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as the Commissioner-General may direct.”

On the issue of Disposal of Want of Entry or Seizures, Statia said these are done, at all times, in a fair, impartial and transparent manner with the Internal and State Auditors playing their respective roles. Consequently, the GRA welcomes any audit by the Auditor General who audits such transactions on a yearly basis, and reports his findings to the Public Accounts Committee.

Regarding disposal of seized motor vehicles, under sections 218 and 224 of the Customs Act, the Commissioner-General may, given the nature of the offence, allow the individual in question to pay a fine in lieu of court proceedings or he may dispose of the seizure as he deems fit accordingly.

The GRA head said in some instances, seized or Want of Entry motor vehicles are disposed of by way of assignment to other state entities such as the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Ministry of Health and other departments that require resources for its effective functioning. This has always been the practice and the exercise of such discretion and is not unique to Guyana.

Notwithstanding the wide powers given to the Commissioner-General to dispose of seized vehicles as he sees fit, such disposals are done in a fair and consistent manner to ensure maximum collection of revenues by the State, Stattia underscored. He said despite the numerous assignments to government agencies, the revenue collection for such seizures and want of entries increased over 2013 to May 2019 which allowed for increases in the total collection of the Enforcement Division as follows: 2013 – $154.5M; 2014 – $185.7M ; 2015 – $210.3M; 2016 – $268.5M; 2017 – $349.2M; 2018 – $646.2M. 2019 to date – $750.1M. “Let the public be the judge of where the billions went and to whose family and friends benefitted from 2013 to present,” the letter concluded.