The Guyana Revenue Autho-rity (GRA) has made the system of clearing personal effects simpler and the new procedure which will be in effect from December 1 should take no longer than ten minutes.
And under the new system the GRA will discontinue the examination of personal effects, “except in cases where intelligence gathered would necessitate that an examination be done,” the revenue authority said in a release yesterday.
The clearing of personal effects is guided by a six-step procedure set out by the GRA, but the steps to be followed have been further simplified and once followed the entire transaction will be concluded within ten minutes.
Personal effects include barrels, boxes, packages and parcels containing non-commercial items sent by air or sea through any recognized shipping agency.
Previously the ceiling for the clearing of personal effects was US$500 but in light of the nature of items that are so categorized, GRA has now raised the ceiling to allow for the clearance of personal effects valued at up to US$1000 using the Declara-tion Form (C73). Therefore, personal effects with values in excess of US$1000 are requir-ed to be cleared using the Customs Declaration Form (C72), the GRA said.
GRA said further that a flat rate will be charged on all personal effects and this rate will depend on the type and size of the package to be cleared.
The rates are as follows:
Barrels
Jumbo/Large – $6,000
Medium – $5,000
Average – $5,000
Small – $4,000
Boxes/Cartons
Extra Large/
Bin boxes – $6,000
Large – $5,000
Medium – $4,000
Average – $4,350
Small – $2,400
In addition, shippers will now be required to specify on the manifest the actual size of the package and give a brief description of the content of the consignment.
“This new system will also seek to remove inefficiencies and mitigate instances of fraud and allegations of corruption. Moreover, with the simplified system, once the required information has been accurately filled out, delays will be avoided,” the GRA said.
In the meantime, the revenue authority is appealing to persons conducting business at the various wharves, to adhere to the stipulated system and avoid using “underhand tactics” to expedite the process.
Persons who have queries about the new system can call the Tax Hotline at tel. no. 227-7929, Extensions 201 or 258, the release concluded.
