Smuggling and tax evasion have gone unchecked in Berbice for years and are hurting legitimate businesses, particularly those paying VAT, according to a few businessmen in the area who are planning to meet with customs to tackle the problem.
The proposed meeting with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is expected to focus primarily on trade with Suriname, which continues unregulated at the illegal crossing given that there is hardly any visible presence of customs despite the enormous traffic.
President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Poonai Bhigroog refers to the problems as constant and according to him, concerns have been raised consistently with the authorities. He said in a recent interview that many businesses including his own are forced to compete unfairly with persons in the area who are evading taxes and sneaking goods into the country. Bhigroog stressed that every business should be obligated to pay taxes and cited the Valued Added Tax (VAT) as a major issue in the area because of the fact that many businesses have been deemed ineligible.
Businesses which are meeting VAT obligations and adhering to the rules are suffering, Bhigroog noted, adding that the situation could only be described as unfair. He said the issue of smuggling has always been of concern and underscored the loss in government revenue. The Chamber President said also that his group recently met with others in the area to discuss the problems and that a decision was taken for them to meet collectively with customs.
Stabroek News contacted Commissioner General of the GRA Khurshid Sattaur on the issues in Berbice and he declined to comment. This newspaper was told that some businesses in Berbice operate without receipt books while others refuse to accept invoice in addition to the widespread smuggling.
Stabroek News also spoke with Rohan Murray, President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce, who echoed what Bhigroog said about smuggling and tax evasion.
However, he said a growing problem in the New Amsterdam area has been the presence of traders from the city who travel up to Berbice and use the streets to do business. Murray said many legitimate businesses are suffering because of the practice since according to him, it is questionable whether many of the people have a licence to trade.
Murray disclosed that a meeting was recently held in the area with Tourism Minister, Maniram Prashad where the issue of the out-of-town traders was raised. He said a second meeting is planned for the chambers and others representing the interest of legitimate business owners in Berbice to meet with GRA officials.
Currently, he said, they are documenting what the problems are to present them during the meeting.
