Fiscal law assures more transparency
--- businesses hailed in transition process
Guyana Chronicle
February 25, 2004
THE Ministry of Finance is thanking the business community for its patience and understanding during the period of transition following the recent passage of the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act 2003 and the gazette-ing of the new order.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry indicated that in keeping with the Government's commitment to have a fair, open and transparent policy with respect to existing tax exemptions, Finance Minister, Mr. Saisnarine Kowlessar recently signed and gazetted a Customs Duties (Amendment) Order, which was forwarded to the National Assembly as required by the Customs Act.
Among the many significant changes implemented as a result of the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act 2003, introduced by the Government in August 2003, was the repeal of Section 12 of the Customs Act.
According to the statement from the Finance Ministry, that section gave the Minister of Finance the right to remit duties, rents and charges based on individual application by an importer or exporter.
The Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act is valid, unless the Act under which the Order is issued expressly permits the Minister to provide such a remission, concession or waiver, the statement pointed out.
It noted that over the years, Section 12 of the Customs Act had been used to grant exemptions on an individual basis. In addition, under the authority of Section 12, Government had established a number of zero-rated items, particularly capital goods or components of capital goods that were deemed to be necessary for the purposes of the economic development of the country.
Prominent among these were inputs into the mining, agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy, the Finance Ministry stated.
With the changes introduced in the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act 2003, it became necessary to give full legal effect to the existing list of Standing (ST) letters. The Customs Duties (Amendment) Order now being issued identifies, by tariff heading, and adds to the First Schedule Part I of the Customs Act, the existing list of the Standing (ST) letters.
The amendments to the First Schedule Part III, made by the new Customs Duties (Amendment) Order, intend to remove all references to ministerial discretion and substitute rule-based and transparent procedures for existing exemptions and in some cases to further clarify the items under the schedule.