–refutes claims that tax exemptions were abused

ONE day after being listed among local oil-importing companies which have abused duty exemptions, Sol Guyana Inc. has said that it has in place robust procedures to ensure that they remain compliant with their duty obligations and other legal and corporate social responsibilities.
It was reported on Sunday that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), following a reconciliation of exempted fuel against acquitted fuel, has found that several major oil importers, namely Sol, Rubis and GuyOil, were utilising exemption letters to clear fuel without regard for whom the fuel was destined.
The Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) and the Customs, Excise and Trade Operations (CE&TO) arms of GRA, following reconciliation exercises in 2017 and again in 2020, found that in each case a trend was observed whereby some of the major oil importers had imported and entered the fuel at duty-free rate, using the beneficiaries’ tax-exemption letters, but failed to deliver the full quantities to the beneficiaries as required.
The reconciliation exercises involved major beneficiaries, namely Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Bosai, AGM, Rusal, and in late 2020, ExxonMobil.

In the case of ExxonMobil, evidence has so far revealed that since 2015, the system was being abused by Sol Guyana Inc. It was found that the exemption letters were being utilised by Sol to clear fuel, but the full quantity was not being delivered to the beneficiary.
Also, for the period January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, a total quantity of 34,554,080 litres of gas oil was imported and duly entered by Sol Guyana Inc., using both Bosai companies’ tax exemption letters.
Of this quantity, Commissioner-General of GRA, Godfrey Statia, said that certified records submitted by Sol Guyana Inc. and both Bosai companies revealed that only the accumulated quantity of 20,691,379 litres was delivered to the beneficiaries. This meant that the remaining 13,862,701 litres had stayed in Sol’s possession.
In responding to the claims of abuse, Sol, in a statement on Sunday, said those allegations are “highly misleading” and “damaging.”

“Sol’s core values of integrity, respect, safety and community are at the centre of its operations. We have worked collaboratively with the Guyana Revenue Authority (the “GRA”) and want to assure our customers, partners, and the people of Guyana that we have robust procedures in place to ensure that we remain in compliance with our duty obligations, as well as our other legal and corporate social responsibilities,” the General Manager, Earl Carribon, said in the statement.
As part of its assurance process, Carribon said that Sol Inc. has enlisted an independent third party to conduct verification and reconciliation of its duty position, which confirms that the company is current and compliant with duty-exempt importation regulations.
Statia had said, however, that based on the incontrovertible evidence obtained, the revenue authority demanded the forgone excise tax, in the sum $606,978,363 on the 13,862,701 litres of gas oil, which was imported and entered free of excise tax, but was not delivered to both Bosai companies to be utilised for the intended purpose.

According to the GRA, in an email dated November 27, 2020, Sol Guyana Inc. accepted the liability, but alleged that in past periods, notably during 2018-2019, it had supplied in excess of 24 million litres of duty-paid diesel at duty-free prices to both Bosai companies without exemption letters.
When this quantity was reconciled, the GRA found that only 20.3 million litres was supplied, clear evidence that Sol Inc. does not keep adequate records of acquittals.
The GRA officers are still examining Bosai’s exemption records to see whether the company acquitted fuel from other importers in 2018 and 2019, since they were in receipt of exemptions during the period claimed. Considering the extent of abuse uncovered by the authority, Statia has recommended that GRA should find a way to prosecute the company, and recover duties and interest applicable based on the abuse.