THE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) recently obtained a judgement against SOL Guyana Inc for the payment of $2,713,212,251 in owed corporation tax.

This is according to a press release from the GRA, which said that the company will also have to pay penalties and interest until the date of payment.

Further, on September 30, 2022, a High Court judge refused an application made by SOL Guyana Inc for an order seeking an extension of time to file a Corporate Tax Appeal against the GRA in relation to several years of assessment that were raised and maintained pursuant to the provisions of the Income and Corporation Tax Acts.

“The court ruled that Sol Guyana Inc failed to satisfy the precondition for a tax appeal as set out by [Section] 98 of the Income Tax Act. The Revenue Authority argued that the company has no right of appeal under [Section] 86 of the said Act and that no extension of time beyond the lapse of the statutory period could be considered, where there is no right of appeal, among other things,” the release said.

According to the release, the court also ruled that “the full payment of disputed taxes or the lodging of a bond or a guarantee to the satisfaction of the commissioner-general is a precondition before the right of appeal against an assessment under the Income Tax Act can be exercised.”

The court further ruled that SOL’s failure to secure and place a bond before the commissioner-general for him to determine whether or not it is to his satisfaction pursuant to Section 98, at the time they requested one to be lodged has frustrated the company’s right of appeal in the circumstances, the release added.