Amid growing questions as to how a large-scale gold mining company had been able to depart the country leaving a royalty debt of $2.6b, it has been disclosed that a repayment plan it put forward had been rejected by the GRA and that correspondence to key ministries on the matter went unanswered.
Already owing US$6.8 million in royalties to this country, Australian mining company Troy Resources Guyana Inc (TRGI) had approached the Guyana Gold Board proposing that their Value Added Tax (VAT) returns be transferred to offset royalties associated with gold production exports, a proposal which was rejected by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), sources say.
The company had also asked government for its outstanding balance to be converted into equity but this too was rejected by government.
