The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says that its Compliance and Arrears Collection Unit is in the process of issuing warning letters to several businesses that have not taken corrective action in spite of the advice of the VAT and Excise Tax Department.
The GRA also said that it notes that there seems to be a number of businesses that have not complied with Section 2 of the VAT Act which states that.
“Every person who carries on a taxable activity and is not registered, is required to apply for registration within 15 days of the end of any period of 12 or fewer months where during that period the person made taxable supplies the total value of which equals or exceeds the amount specified in Paragraph 1 of Schedule IV ($10M).”
That person is also required to register at the beginning of any period of 12 months where there are reasonable grounds to expect that the total value of taxable supplies to be made by the person during that period will be equal to or exceed the threshold.
The GRA said too that it is taking Value Added Tax (VAT) complaints seriously and it is undertaking several initiatives to resolve complaints by consumers and the general public against some businesses as the tax regime continues to be implemented.
During the past week, several VAT advisory visits and compliance visits were made to businesses in several areas. With the aim of ensuring maximum compliance by VAT registrants, staff of various departments of the GRA visited businesses.
The GRA found on the visits that some businesses were charging VAT but were not registered, some didn’t display the VAT registration certificate but were charging VAT, some didn’t meet the stipulated invoicing requirement, some were not displaying the amount of VAT on tax invoices, some were increasing prices inordinately and blaming VAT, and prices were not properly displayed as being VAT inclusive or exclusive. Among the businesses visited were grocery stores, jewellery establishments, hardware stores, variety stores, customs brokers, auto dealers, lumber dealers, taxi services, computer suppliers, electrical importers, pest control services, trucking services, pharmaceutical services and restaurants.
The GRA said that it reserved the right to publish names of defaulters and will be embarking on this at the appropriate time if corrective action is not taken.
It said that it may take action in the Commercial Court which has been active in other GRA matters.
In a release issued on Monday, the GRA said that the implementation of VAT is a national effort and requires the involvement of all Guyanese. “We are encouraged by the positive response from some businesses in allowing the VAT to function as it should and by allowing their customers to benefit from fair prices,” the GRA release said. “We are making an ardent appeal to other [businesses] which for one reason or another have not yet fully begun to pass on the benefits of VAT to their customers
