The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has condemned the use of motor vehicles for purposes not covered under their registration category and is continuing its enforcement activities to ensure that motorists comply with the law.
In a press release the GRA said it is concerned that persons with motor vehicles registered in the ‘G’ and ‘B’ series are flouting the terms and conditions under which they have been registered as it had implemented a policy to be adopted before vehicles could be registered in ‘G’ for the purpose of “carrying goods.”
According to the release the vehicle was required to have seats fitted at the front for the driver and two porters; the sides of the vehicle must be completely sealed with metal and not glass and seats must be fitted in the rear; the unladen weight of the vehicle, name and address of the registered owner must be painted on the right side of the vehicle. The person registering the vehicle was also required to have a registered business to justify the use of a goods transportation vehicle.
The GRA requires that approval be granted by Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur through the office of the Tax Exemption Processing and Verification Unit before a vehicle can be registered as ‘G’.
Further, the agency noted that a goods vehicle should not be used to transport passengers and minibuses that are registered for the purpose of transporting passengers should not be used to transport goods. “Such actions constitute a breach of the conditions of registration and persons found to be in contravention of the outlined conditions will be penalised,” it said.
Also, under Section 87 (1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act Cap 51:01 no persons shall use a goods vehicle on the road in any area of Guyana for the carriage of goods for hire or reward or in connection with any trade or business carried on by him except under a goods transportation licence. Therefore, apart from ensuring that they operate a vehicle in keeping with the conditions of registration, persons should not operate a vehicle for the purpose of carrying goods within Guyana without a goods transportation licence issued by the police.
It should also be noted that the registration of Extra and Single Cab motor vehicles cannot be changed from ‘G’ to ‘P’ since those vehicles are strictly designed for the purpose of carrying goods.
The GRA will continue its enforcement activities to ensure that vehicle owners comply with the regulations and that vehicles are being utilised for the purposes for which they were registered. The GRA also encourages persons with information about any vehicle being used other than for the registered purpose to contact its hotline number on 227-6060.
