Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur has said that moving to the court for redress of any infringement of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Act by VAT registrants will be one of the final courses of action by the GRA.

Sattaur stated that the authority is using the provisions in the law to administer the VAT since there are other administrative measures that can be taken, apart from taking persons to court, a GRA press release said.

The provisions of the Act include financial penalties and other sanctions such as temporary closure of businesses, seizure of goods and vehicles and distress proceedings.

Already, the release said, the GRA has sent out notices of rejected VAT returns for January month.

The reasons for rejection include incorrect VAT calculations, incorrect credit carried forward, declaration not signed by appropriate persons and incorrect VAT remitted.

Meanwhile, the GRA has also started to conduct audits of several businesses to ensure that the taxes due or payable are a true reflection of what should be paid. Applications for refunds can also be subjected to audit for verification purposes.

Moreover, the GRA has the authority under Section 35 (4) of the VAT Act to apply any refund claimed “in reduction of any other tax, levy, interest or penalty payable”.

The release added that the GRA will also be “making use of third party information which will be treated with strict confidentiality.”