GRA staff under close watch after duty-free scam

-miners fingered in bribes, no arrests yet

Following the uncovering of a duty-free scam in May, senior officers are now placed at strategic units within the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ensure that relevant procedures and processes are followed, Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur says.

The duty free scam was uncovered several weeks ago and four staff members were being investigated regarding the issuance of more than 20 duty-free letters.

When contacted for an update yesterday, Sattaur told Stabroek News that  the GRA has discovered that  miners  have been colluding with mainly junior staff members within the revenue body, who are paid significant sums of money in order to fast track the processing of their  documents.

Khurshid Sattaur

He said that senior staff members are now placed at various departments within the GRA to ensure that the relevant procedures and processes are being followed with regards to the processing of documents.

On May 10, the GRA had issued a statement saying that two of its officers were being probed for forging the signatures of senior officers. The statement said that fake signatures were affixed to Remission of Duty Letters (commonly referred to as CG or Tax Exemption letters) used for issuing duty-free concessions for All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and other heavy-duty equipment used in the mining industry, which under normal circumstances would have attracted concessions for eligible applicants.

Sattaur revealed yesterday that the miners would pay the errant staff members, bribes to carry out various duties including verification of vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). He said that there is information which suggests that the miners would have started off their mining operations on the wrong foot, by mining illegally and according to him, since their actions would not be condoned in the regulated industry, such persons would continue to pay bribes in order to carry out their operations.

In the May statement, Sattaur had said that the discovery of the duty-free scam was “once again a typical case of putting systems to safeguard the State’s revenues and these are being deliberately undermined by very junior ranks out of greed and reckless conduct on their part in collusion with the owners of businesses. The officers’ integrity has obviously being compromised because of the inducement offered and greed.”

He said yesterday that the junior officers who are bribed by members of the business community would do so without harbouring any second thoughts since they would have received significant sums of money to take care of their welfare if they are dismissed from the job.

Sources within the GRA told Stabroek News this week that there may be attempts to cover-up the recent scam. However, Sattaur said yesterday that the body has been holding several meetings to discuss the issue while an internal investigation into the matter is also being undertaken. At the moment, the four officers who were fingered in the scam are confined to carrying out filing duties at Customs House on Main Street in the city.

Stabroek News had reported that over the past two years, officers within the Remission and Risk Management Units of the revenue body have managed to forge the signatures of managers of the GRA, following which luxury vehicles, ATVs and excavators were imported into the country by businessmen and private citizens without the applicable duties being paid.

The tax boss appealed yesterday to the mining bodies to urge their members to desist from colluding with the staff in robbing the state of revenues. He said that a system has been installed to correct the problem.