The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says 80% of taxpayers have been issued a TIN which will enable it to collect taxes from persons who may have been delinquent.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release more that 145,000 persons have been registered for the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur said the GRA has made major strides in implementing the TIN and “If one were to look at our results I would feel that we have captured in excess of 80 percent of the taxpayers.” The release also said that persons not having a TIN would result in late submission and payment and this constitutes an offence under the Income Tax Act. Employers can also be penalised for defaulting.

According to Sattaur, due to misinformation in some sections of the media, thousands of persons who are not necessarily required to have a TIN immediately have applied. “I have in excess of 25,000 applications that I cannot deal with at the moment,” he said, adding that the GRA had had to prioritise the list. However, he gave assurances that the GRA will process their TIN in due course.

GINA said TIN is a unique computer-generated nine-digit number which identifies persons for the purpose of transacting business with the GRA and other agencies specified under the law. It has replaced all existing Income Tax, Form 2 and Export Numbers that the GRA had issued.

Meanwhile the GRA said it will be introducing a new service to ensure “more efficiency with regard to taxes.” It said too that February 14 is a major milestone for the country as, for the first time, employees’ remittances would be entered electronically into the GRA’s system. Sattaur said the new system will result in a reduction in the cost of managing the Authority and there will be less of a paper trail.