Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur yesterday defended his decision to grant an "amnesty from prosecution" for the importers of vehicles in the remigration scam.
He said that Section 271 of the Customs Act Cap 82:01 gives him the power to make arrangements in lieu of prosecution, in this case for those who were given duty-free entitlements for which they were not eligible.
Questions have been raised about the wisdom of such an amnesty, with the point being made that the government would be losing much needed money if the importers are not made to pay all the applicable fines in addition to duties and taxes. Observers also argue that the amnesty would send the wrong signal to persons who might engage in such fraudulent acts and who might corrupt those entrusted with granting concessions.
Sattaur had on Monday cautioned that non-compliance with the amnesty would result in heavy penalties being enforced, inclusive of the payment of the owed duty and taxes, a fine of three times the value of the vehicles covered in the duty-free letters, and one year in jail. He said that the Purchase Tax to be paid is 100% of the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) of the vehicle plus the Duty and the Consumption Tax.
Sattaur said that the decision to wait one week before seizing the vehicles is hinged on the fact that the court procedures may take years in efforts to recover the duties and taxes.
He told Stabroek News that he does not deny that the one-week amnesty may send the wrong message, but he said that it is only for a short period.
He insists that he has the authority to use all avenues available to him for the collection of revenue. He added that seizure of the vehicles would only be pursued if all else fails in collecting the owed revenue.
But he told Stabroek News yesterday that before the GRA adopted this new strategy, a number of the suspect vehicles were held, some of them in Berbice. Stabroek News understands that some of the vehicles are at the GRA's Head Office while some are at Eve Leary. This newspaper was unable to confirm the number of vehicles from the remigrant scam that have been seized or handed over voluntarily.
According to Sattaur, the one-week campaign, which ends on Monday, is being met with good responses. He said that yesterday a number of persons came forward to make recompense, though he would not disclose that number.
He stated that when persons come in, personnel from the Guyana Police Force and from the Director of Public Prosecutions' (DPP) office are present to interview them. He said that the persons have been giving voluntary statements and there is a questionnaire that they have to complete.
Sattaur said that while he could work out arrangements for the delinquent importers, the corrupt ministry officials have to be dealt with by the DPP.
He is appealing to members of the public to come forward if they have suspicions of vehicles that they might have seen. He said that the information and their identities would be kept confidential.
He said that he does not want the owners and the vehicles to disappear hence his appeal to the public. According to Sattaur, he has been getting a lot of these reports of suspect vehicles, from as far as Linden. He said that the GRA is now putting its act together and is getting more and more information every day.
He said that he is soon to have a meeting with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) where he will further discuss the matter with members of the business community.
A source at the Customs and Trade Administration said yesterday that the investigation has been ongoing for some time.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News visited the Ministry of Finance yesterday and found that the three persons sent home, including Secretary to the Treasury (ST) Neermal Rekha, were still off the job. Performing duties of the ST was Lorene Baird, the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury. Stabroek News was up to yesterday unable to confirm if the officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was on or off the job.
Since the passage of the Fiscal Enactments Act, the Minister of Finance has been stripped of the authority to grant concessions. This power now resides with the Commissioner-General of the GRA, who now issues letters granting duty-free concessions. But this is after the Ministry of Finance would have sent a letter of approval to the GRA stating that the applicant had met all the criteria.
In his weekly press briefing Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday that Cabinet was advised that the directives of President Bharrat Jagdeo have been followed and officers identified in the probe have been sent on leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Questioned on the reason for the delay in interdicting Rekha and who authorised it, Luncheon said that it is necessary to get the support of the Public Service Ministry and the Public Service Commission (PSC) to ensure that decisions implemented were consistent with the rules for facilitating such matters.
He confirmed that the Office of the President had issued the instruction that Rekha be sent on leave. He said too that the President, through the Minister of Finance, Cabinet and the Commissioner General, who is charged with discharging the directives, issued these guidelines due to the absence of the Revenue Authority Board which is still to be reconstituted.
A report by an auditor from the Office of the Auditor General of remigrant concessions granted by the Ministry of Finance in August 2003 had found that only 31 out of 86 concessions were properly granted.
The others featured bogus documentation or the applicants were not eligible for the concessions that they sought. The report found that there was collusion between officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance. A key part of the fraud was the forging of the signature of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Following his receipt of the report, President Jagdeo ordered that the vehicles in question be seized and that the investigation be extended to the period prior to August 2003. He also instructed that copies of the report be turned over to the DPP's office.