–confirms verification of alleged tax evasion ongoing

FURTHER verification requests were sent by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts, according to the Authority’s Commissioner-General, Mr. Khurshid Sattaur.

His comments follow the Guyana Chronicle’s disclosure that the publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, may yet again be at the centre of an alleged duty-free infringement, which GRA’s Customs and Trade Administration arm is investigating.
Mr. Sattaur, in an invited comment, said, “This is indeed a matter that is currently being investigated, and which the necessary verification requests were dispatched to the relevant authorities in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Only days after being fingered in an alleged remigrant duty-free concession scam, which the GRA is currently investigating, Lall is now at the centre of an alleged evasion, whereby his company has, for over a decade now, been importing printing ink and passed them off as products of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), so as to enjoy duty-free concessions for those importations.
Said Sattaur, “It is possible that the importer would also knowingly be involved in this process and the relevant actions would be taken to recoup the outstanding taxes under the remedies available under the Customs Act and other applicable Legislation.”

‘It is possible that the importer would also knowingly be involved in this process and the relevant actions would be taken to recoup the outstanding taxes under the remedies available under the Customs Act and other applicable Legislation’ –GRA’s Mr. Khurshid Sattaur

VIGILANCE
According to him, the GRA is closely examining the circumstances in the case. “The matter was brought to attention, based on the vigilance of examination officers in identifying suspicion based on the use of another label over the original label of the packages,” he said.
The GRA’s Commissioner-General stated that the current verification procedures state that within four weeks of the date of issue of the request to verify evidence of origin, the Verifying Authority in the exporting Member State will, on the basis of its investigation, respond to the query.
“If a reply to the query cannot be furnished within four weeks of the date of issue of the request to verify evidence of origin, an interim response explaining the need for additional time and an indication as to when a definitive reply is likely, should be sent. The extended period should not be in excess of two weeks,” he said.

SYSTEM OF VERIFICATION
Mr. Sattaur added that the current situation is that the GRA has had responses requesting additional time to conclude the matter way beyond the time stipulated in the CARICOM Verification Procedures, even though there is an indication that the additional time is being requested to conduct chemical analysis to determine whether the amount extra regional material included meets the conditions set out.
He said, “Because the system of verification is achieved through occasional checks of manufacturing procedures, it is of concern to the GRA that simple processes such as repacking the imported products or rather, outright substitution of extra regional items while requesting the CARICOM Certificate, can occur because limited checks by verifying authorities and this puts a high risks on the associated taxes.
“Under the circumstances, the importing Member State shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the revenue is protected. Where a deposit is taken by the Authorities in the importing Member State pending resolution to a request to verify evidence of origin and no response is received within the stipulated time frame, the Authorities in the importing Member State should, in not less than seven days prior to taking the deposit to account, inform the Authorities in the exporting Member State of its intention to do so.”
The GRA Commissioner-General reiterated that the Authority is addressing the matter with the Trinidad and Tobago Authorities and CARICOM. “The final position on this matter is still to be finalised so I would not say anything further at this point,” he concluded.