The Auditor General’s Office is remaining silent on whether it is investigating abuses of the duty free concessions to remigrants for vehicles imported into the country, in the light of the recent seizure of two vehicles belonging to family friends of Kaieteur News publisher Glen Lall.
The GRA recently seized the vehicles belonging to Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan and Commissioner-General Khurshid Sattaur said the move was part of a wider investigation into the use of vehicles imported by remigrants that began since the start of the year.
Lall has charged that the GRA’s seizure of the vehicles, which were used by him and his wife, was in retaliation for his newspaper’s exposés of wrongdoings by the government.
Sattaur has said the issue was with the remigrants and the possibility that they owed over $102 million in taxes on the two luxury Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), which were brought into the country through concessions granted under the remigrant scheme. He said there was an ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud and that the Auditor General’s office would need to speak to the Brijnanans. He added that the investigation would need to determine how long the remigrants owned the vehicles prior to them being brought into Guyana and if in fact they were in possession of the vehicles once they were brought into the country.
Stabroek News has reached out to Auditor General Deodat Sharma on multiple occasions seeking confirmation that the investigation was spearheaded by his office but there has been no response. The head of the GRA had stated that since the beginning of this year the Auditor General’s office has been investigating the use of some 600 vehicles imported over the past three years by remigrants.
Stabroek News had asked Sharma if the ongoing investigation had yielded enough evidence to substantiate a significant abuse of the concessions under the remigrant scheme as well as how many persons would penalties be brought against and what were the penalties. This publication had also asked Sharma about the allegations that the Brijnanans utilised their concessions for the gain of Lall. Sharma’s office has yet to provide any response.
Stabroek News was, however, told that the investigation was logged as an overview of the remigrant scheme, but a complaint was made against the Brijnanans and Lall specifically, which caused the GRA to investigate and seize the vehicles last month.
While the issuing of concessions is administered through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Director General Ambassador Elisabeth Harper told Stabroek News that the GRA “determines the tax concessions to be granted… Based on [that], the GRA can initiate an investigation at any time if they have information that warrants one.”
She said, “The Foreign Ministry is always looking at ways to improve the system as is the case with any other system and has been doing this throughout the years. This is a continuous process and Cabinet has authorised several revisions over the years. The idea of the programme is to assist Guyanese citizens returning to their home country to resettle. As such the Foreign Ministry strives for balance with ensuring the system is not too cumbersome but also not susceptible to abuses.”
Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran wrote in his Stabroek News column on Monday that “the Remigrant’s Scheme appears to be a worthwhile and beneficial one, considering the level of ‘brain drain’ that has been taking place over since the 1970s and perhaps earlier. However, there is no evidence that any dedicated study was carried out to ascertain the effectiveness of the Scheme, especially as regards any net benefit to the country arising from the concessions granted.”
He questioned if the scheme offered the desired value for money, while noting that the concessions can be abused given the absence of effective monitoring.
He stated that there is “no evidence that follow-up procedures are in place to ascertain any help a remigrant may need in the settling-in period and in the pursuit of the economic activity identified in his/her application for remigrant status. Nor is there evidence of any procedure to ensure that a remigrant does not return to resettle in his/her previous country of residence, or any other country, within the stipulated three-year period. This is a significant shortcoming of the Scheme that is open to widespread abuse.”
Goolsarran added, “More important is the fact that the remigrant’s statutory declaration does not include a requirement precluding him/her from disposing of his vehicle within the three-year period. Although the GRA provides some measure of checks and balances to prevent this from happening, there is nothing that precludes a remigrant from entering into private arrangement with a buyer with the understanding that the legal ownership will be transferred after the duty-free period has ended.”
He concluded that it was the GRA that need to ascertain how abuse within the system take place to “allay fears that selected individuals are being targeted for whatever reason(s).”
Following the seizure of the vehicles, the Brijnanans moved to challenge the GRA’s actions in court, while contending that the vehicles were imported by them pursuant to remigration status approved by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and tax exemptions granted by the GRA, both in July last year. Following an application on September 2, by way of notice of motion on the part of the Brijnanans and hearing their attorney, acting Chief Justice Ian Chang directed the GRA to show cause why its decision to seize the two Lexus LX 570 vehicles, bearing registration numbers PRR 8398 and PRR 8399, should not be quashed on the grounds that it was unlawful and a temporary order should not be made absolute.
