Dear Editor,
With reference to the letter published in the Wednesday May, 15, edition of the Stabroek News captioned ‘Long lines, poor organisation, unhealthy conditions at Licence Office in Smyth Street,’ I wish to express regret for the experience of the author and other members of the public. I am tremendously disturbed and embarrassed over these reports of extreme provocation to members of the public and will spare no effort to ensure that there is no repeat of this situation.
Although I cannot fathom why there was so much confusion, I wish to state that while the situation was unfortunate, it was also an unusual occurrence. Hence, contrary to the impression given by the writer, there is no such chaos on a daily basis at the Licence Revenue Office (LRO).
It must be noted that on the day the taxpayer visited there was a power outage which rendered the lodgment system useless, bringing about a change in pace, as numbers had to be issued. Also the generator did not have the capacity to power all the equipment, including air-conditioning units. This meant that in order to avoid congestion in the building there had to be a reduction in the number of persons who were allowed to enter at any particular time.
The system in place requires that persons lodge their documents and return on the given date to complete the transaction.
Further, the public is aware that the Guyana Revenue Authority is in the process of consolidating its Georgetown operations, with the exception of the wharves and a few other services, at its new headquarters on Camp Street. Most of it has already been completed, with the movement of the LRO being staggered to ensure that any disruption of service is severely minimized and that when the move is completed the system will only be generating computerized documents. Hence, very soon (in a matter of days) the GRA will be offering the services related to drivers’ licences at the Camp Street office, as the service is shifted from Smyth Street.
The GRA has made a massive amount of investment at its new location to ensure that members of the public conducting business with the entity are provided with convenient and efficient service.
As such, the GRA is highly optimistic that when the services related to the sale of drivers’ licences are relocated, taxpayers will be satisfied. The public is therefore asked to be patient and to cooperate with the organisation over the matter, including the long awaited transfer of the unit to the new headquarters. I regret the inconvenience caused by the lack of proper systems to deal with the situation and thank the member of the public for bringing it to my attention. Also, I would appreciate if in future other means can be used to have matters addressed. I wish to reiterate my advice to the public that should they experience any difficulty in transacting business with the LRO, they should communicate with or seek clarity from the Senior Manager, Licence Revenue Office; Deputy Head Value Added Tax & Excise Tax; Director, Tax Operations & Services or the Commissioner-General.
Yours faithfully,
Khurshid Sattaur
Commissioner-General
