GRA starts payment of PAYE refunds

The Guyana Revenue Autho-rity (GRA) has started payment of PAYE refunds to eligible taxpayers for the period 2006 to 2011 and advises taxpayers to check its website to see if they are eligible.

Currently, refunds from between $500 and $1000 are being paid to an estimated 5,000 taxpayers, the GRA said in a press release.  The agency will publish the names of about 500 eligible taxpayers weekly on its website www.gra.gov.gy and a list will be available for public viewing at its Camp Street headquarters. Taxpayers can also view the list at the nearest GRA Integrated Regional Tax Office.

The GRA said the usual verification process is being conducted before the payments are made and more than 60,000 persons who filed their individual returns and whose respective employer(s) have submitted their employers’ Form Two stand to benefit.

Taxpayers whose names appear on the list are required to visit the GRA’s headquarters to uplift their refund on or before January 31, 2013. Persons who fail to do so will have their refunds converted into a credit to be used to offset liabilities owing for previous years or that may be incurred in future years.

Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur stressed that the public’s cooperation is vital to having the process conducted in a smooth, efficient and orderly fashion. He advises taxpayers to walk with a valid form of identification – National Identification Card or passport) and proof of address when uplifting their refunds.

Further, taxpayers are asked to use this opportunity to ensure that their addresses associated with their TINs have been updated, particularly those who have changed their residence, to ensue that they are refunded in a timely manner. This can be done by bringing in proof of address and valid identification to the new GRA headquarters.