The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will put its recently acquired container scanner into operation at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation compound next month and this is expected to result in a more advanced and efficient system of examination of imported and exported containerized cargo.
According to a GRA release, Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur has said that “the Non-Intrusive Detection Equipment is expected to be put into operation by January 1, 2011 and it is expected to result in more timely examinations and clearance of containerized consignments while impacting positively on revenue collections and aiding in the detection of narcotic substances that may be included in cargo to be exported.”
The scanner will also serve as a deterrent to persons who are likely to submit false declarations.
However, the scanning process will not add to any delays since it takes about ten to fifteen minutes to do so, the release noted.
In the meantime, works are in progress to prepare the site at the GNSC compound for the scanner and arrangements are in place for the procedures for operation of the scanner to be developed and for staff to be trained to operate it. While some amount of training has already been done, training will be ongoing.
In this new development, shippers are also expected to play their part when submitting their manifest by ensuring that the size of the barrel or other container is stated along with a brief description of the content.
The GRA this year also entered into new areas of operation, merging post clearance audit with the risk management function and the expansion of the mandate of the Law Enforcement and Investigating Division (LEID) to include anti-narcotics monitoring, surveillance and examination of exports.
And a new unit ‘The Scanner Operations/Imports/Exports’ was established within LEID with direct responsibility for the execution of the added mandate, the release stated.
Meanwhile, the GRA is now utilizing two mobile cameras and equipment to record the examination process for imported goods which have been selected for examination through the Risk Management System.
This measure, the release said, serves as a means of verification of the actions taken and the results achieved and also acts as a deterrent to corrupt activities while bringing about improved compliance and increased revenue collections.
The GRA has also strengthened its enforcement capacity this year, engaging in several construction and enhancement projects to facilitate the establishment of Customs checkpoints at Crab Island, Charity and Kurupukari.
These include the construction of a building at Crab Island for officers assigned to that location; construction of a boathouse; office building; living quarters and bond at Charity; and an office building and living quarters at Kurupukari.
In addition, human and other resources were added to these operational areas, and other activities are currently in progress to make them fully operational.
In addition, the GRA’s Law Enforcement and Investigation Division has made inroads on a number of illegal practices, significantly impacting revenue in terms of duties and taxes collected through the application of correct values and commodity codes, from fines or compensation and sale of seized goods.
Some of the enforcement activities included surveillance exercises on land and water, anti-smuggling and intelligence gathering, profiling and targeting of passengers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, as well as monitoring of vehicles arriving from Brazil and Suriname and prosecution of offenders. Most matters, however, were settled out of court, the release added.
