Two months after the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) sealed a Fidelity Investment bond holding Polar beers it said were illegally imported Justice Jainarayan Singh restored access to the company in a High Court ruling on Friday last.
In a brief ruling the judge made absolute two nisi orders that bar the GRA from sealing, seizing or interfering in any way with the beverages but he lifted an earlier order that had prohibited the revenue body from taking action including prosecution against Fidelity Investment.
GRA is expected to appeal the ruling on the grounds that the trial judge erred in making absolute the two orders. Attorneys for the body, Timothy Jonas and Gino Persaud requested a stay of execution following the ruling but the judge refused.
Shortly after the High Court ruling, GRA and Fidelity clashed at the bond located at 20 Broad Street, Charlestown when the company started removing stocks from the bond.
The GRA sought to prevent trucks that were loaded from leaving the area and eventually an employee of Fidelity Investment was taken into police custody. Stabroek News has learnt that the employee was released on station bail.
Since the bond was sealed in January, the GRA had accused Fidelity Investment of defrauding the body in taxes in excess of $350 million. Fidelity Investment then moved to the court through its attorneys, Hukumchand; Savitri Parag and Kamini Parag.
Substantive arguments were made by the GRA attorneys and Hukumchand during the trial. Among the main issues raised by Jonas and Persaud was the issue of non-disclosure.
They stated that Fidelity Investment did not disclose it was a sister company of Kong Inc, which is the company, that imported the beverages. Additionally, they argued that the GRA ought not to be prevented from carrying out its duties under the Customs Act stating that an earlier order granted by the court had prevented them from doing this.
Hukumchand had submitted that the Polar beers from legally obtained and that the actions of the GRA in sealing off the bond was unlawful, arbitrary and in breach of the rules of natural justice. He said duties were in fact paid since the items were cleared at the relevant port.
The GRA had seized records from Fidelity Investment prior to the commencement of the High Court trial. But the revenue body had stated that this was within its mandate to do so.
Commissioner General of the GRA Khurshid Sattaur had also prepared a preliminary report on the case after the judge had granted the nisi orders in which he referred to the court’s actions as interference in the case. He said then that the court can only serve to send very mixed and confusing signals to the business community concerning the mandate of the GRA to carry out its functions.
