The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) yesterday condemned what it sees as the abuse of the Permit for Immediate Delivery (PID) and the Prior to Processing facilities by some importers, and urged members of the Chamber and the larger business community to note these issues and comply accordingly.
The GCCI said in a press release that it had come to its attention that some importers who are granted Permits for Immediate Delivery (PID) by the Guyana Revenue Authority have in the past failed to provide accurate information on the declaration which causes frequent processing delays.
The Chamber said it understands that in some instances importers have also failed to clear the PID entry within the statutory ten days allowed according to the regulations and legal requirements.
The GCCI expressed condemnation of these actions by members of the business community and encouraged importers to adhere to the stipulated regulations.
According to the release, the GRA has advised that its procedure for release of goods referred to as Permit for Immediate Delivery (PID) applies principally to tax exempted deliveries, but it is also extended to regular importers, particularly in the case of perishables.
The GRA also explained, the release said, that unprocessed PIDs for goods create difficulties for them, including revenue shortfalls and an incomplete process in cases where taxes are due and payable. Additionally, it leads to records not being updated and this results in the national statistics on trade being inaccurate.
GCCI said it also understands that there are incomplete PIDs going back as far as 2002, and called on importers to act expeditiously in completing these.
Meanwhile, GCCI said that a related issue is the abuse of another facility called Prior to Processing (PTP).
The GRA has said that this facility which is used for time-sensitive commodities and where the goods are released before taxes are paid has been routinely abused by importers.
Specifically some 2,500 entries have not been processed to date and under this facility, firms and agencies are required to follow-up on the release the following day in order to pay the taxes due, the GCCI noted.
