After winning his case in court, Chairman of the Giftland Group of Companies Roy Beepat has threatened to sue Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine for $200 million if he does not offer a “full apology” by Monday afternoon for the damage caused by accusations he levelled against the company over rates and taxes.
“So Mayor, you better get yourself here by 2 o’ clock because we are serious now. Your damage has been done and now it is time for you to admit you are wrong and say you are sorry. We will be willing to accept that. If you are not willing to say you are sorry and you are not willing to apologise… we will take the next step in court,” Beepat said, while speaking at a press conference held at his office yesterday afternoon.
Meanwhile, at his own press conference yesterday at City Hall, Narine and the lawyer for the city council saw some positives in the ruling of Chief Justice Roxane George on Thursday which cleared Giftland of the liability which had been claimed.
Beepat told reporters yesterday that he felt that he was “terribly wronged” by statements made by Narine in the public domain over the past few months.
“This is not Roy Beepat or Giftland versus the Mayor and City Council; this is personal now. He has made this personal and it is personal. I take great affront to him personally attacking me and my company. We have worked hard for our reputation….for him to tarnish our reputation like this, it is unforgiveable, so he needs to come and make amends,” Beepat related.
He stated that he believes that Narine took the matter to a personal level. “He did not act in the capacity of Mayor of the City Council. He acted in a personal capacity when he attacked me,” he said. “The insult was of such consequence that it caused us a lot of embarrassment; it caused us a loss of reputation. Giftland was singled out and the company suffered losses, damage to reputation and we looked like tax cheats,” Beepat added.
The Georgetown Mayor & City Council (M&CC) had accused the Giftland Group of Companies of owing in excess of $100 million in rates and taxes.
Attorney for Giftland Mall Timothy Jonas SC had confirmed the ruling against the M&CC having been made by the Chief Justice on Thursday.
He explained that the M&CC had gotten a valuation of the mall from a valuation officer, but that this was done in breach of the Valuation Act since, among other things, no notice had been given to Giftland (the Applicants). The lawyer explained, too, that contrary to procedure, the defendants (M&CC) charged his clients interest on arrears that had not even existed; while noting that even if interest could have been charged, it needed to have been simple interest and not compounded interest.
Last June, Narine had accused Giftland of shirking its tax obligations for the past five years.
The Giftland Mall, however, had said that it was the City which had delayed an agreed settlement and then attempted to seek interest for the time that had elapsed.
The Mayor had said at that time that Giftland Mall owed City Hall over $103 million in rates and taxes and had not paid any rates or taxes nor any interest on what was owed since the mall’s opening in July, 2015.
A subsequent statement issued by the Giftland Group had, however, said that the Company had been actively pursuing City Hall for five years in an effort to have the issue amicably settled.
Beepat had said at that time that former Town Clerk Royston King had negotiated a settlement but in three years despite many attempts to have this drawn into a binding written contract, it was never completed by the city.
It was Beepat’s contention that the Mayor insisted on interest of 21% on what was owed, and a penalty in the figure of approximately $43 million, notwithstanding the company’s argument that it had spent close to $500 million on public works, which included the public access road to the Mall and the Demerara estate, street lighting, a bus shed, walkways and irrigation.
Quashed
At its own press conference yesterday, the city’s attorney Darren Wade said that the Chief Justice had quashed the demand notices sent to Giftland as the Chief Valuation Officer had failed to follow the laws according to Chapter 28:04.
Wade noted that the law requires that properties be valued every five years. However, he noted that this exercise has not been undertaken since 1996. He contended that consequently there is no lawful list for the local authorities in Guyana to demand rates.
Wade said that the court is of the view that the law as it relates to taxes must be strictly followed and as a result of the failure of the Minister and the Chief Valuation Officer the court held that demanding taxes on an updated valuation was unlawful.
The attorney believes that the Chief Justice’s ruling is in fact beneficial for the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown and all the local authorities of Georgetown.
He opined that since 2001 all the rates and taxes that were demanded across the country were not in keeping with the law based on the CJ’s ruling.
It was also noted that the Chief Justice further determined that the compound interest that was demanded by the city for taxes owed was unlawful because the legislation did not specifically state compound interest.
Wade, however, stated that he respectfully disagreed on the matter in relation to compound interest and further disclosed his intention to appeal in relation to the type of interest.
Wade said what needs to be done is for the Chief Valuation Officer to follow the process under the legislation and when that is done Giftland Mall will have to pay any taxes still outstanding.
Wade stated that the case fell apart because of the failures of the Chief Valuation Officer and argued that it had nothing to do with the council.
He revealed that he was asked if the council had ensured before they demanded the taxes that the Chief Valuation Officer was a part of the law and he told the court that the Chief Valuation Officer is in fact an independent office holder and they have no authority to check on his work but have to accept whatever is provided to the council.
Narine in a comment to the media yesterday said that if it requires a re-valuation of city properties to move the process forward it is welcomed by the Mayor and City Council. He thanked the Chief Justice for her intervention and said he is awaiting the court order.
