Head of Project Coordination at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Fitzroy Corlette said yesterday that there is to be a restriction and not a ban on the importation of used tyres.
Speaking yesterday during an interactive session with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) which facilitated a consultation with used tyre dealers and importers and other stakeholders, Corlette said, “I don’t know where this whole thing [about] a ban is coming from, but I am sure that there is a restriction on the importation of used tyres.”
Giving an example, he explained, “If there are 100 people bringing in used tyres, maybe we will have 3 persons doing the importation.”
However, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had clearly stated in his budget presentation that he was giving “notice of intent to ban the importation of used tyres and to reduce taxes on new tyres to encourage their use. This ban will be put into effect as soon as some procedural hurdles are cleared.”
The focus of yesterday’s session was said to be ‘gathering suggestions for draft legislation regarding the proposed restriction on used tyre importation.’
Following Corlette’s remarks, one stakeholder requested that more information regarding the intended restriction be made readily available.
“This is the problem, information seems not to be filtered down from the top,” the man said.
Responding to the question of implementation of the restriction, Corlette stated that no legislation has been implemented as yet as they are still in the consultation stage. This, he said, has to be undertaken before any proposals are submitted to the Minister of Finance.
As the session progressed, representatives raised several points which they asked to be taken into consideration when drafting the necessary legislation for the importation of used tyres. These include the enforcement of tyre standards by the GNBS and traffic officers as well as the possibility of establishing a tyre recycling plant in the country.
The issue of affordability was stressed by several including a representative of a customs brokerage agency. “Those persons who bring in the tyres know that there is a 5-16 % duty on the tyres while the new tyres are 30% duty plus 16% VAT; we need to look to bring down the duties on the new tyres so that they can be more affordable to the consumer,” he said.
This was further emphasized by Morris Wilson who attended the session in the capacity of a consumer. In offering recommendations, Wilson said the job can be made easier by reducing the tariff on new tyres and perhaps even equating it with the tariff on the used tyres.
This, he said, would immediately eliminate used tyres in Guyana while allowing the importers and dealers of used tyres to import the new ones.
A call to have a review of the current standard for used tyres was a made by some who argued that they import and distribute what can be considered “good quality” used tyres.
However, a representative of the GNBS noted that while there are some importers who would have met the requirements, other have not. The representative further stated that while the inspection of tyres was important, at present the GNBS does not have the capability to carry out comprehensive inspections; therefore, inspections are done on a visual basis.
National standard
On hearing this, one stakeholder suggested that the GNBS set a national standard that can be used to determine whether a tyre is illegal or not. He said they should not “put the cart before the horse” which he explained to mean that GRA and GNBS should not ask dealers and importers to comply with standards when there are hardly any measures in place to enforce these standards.
Further, he suggested that the requirements should also be supplied to traffic officers so that they too can identify illegal tyres. “You are asking us to comply with the standard when the police have no standard of their own to enforce. These things need to be researched man…. Let the lawmakers set the standard of illegal tyres before the GNBS can set what the minimum requirements for used tyres are,” he said.
In response to this, the GNBS representative stated that the agency is actually in the process of revising the standard for the tyres.
On a different note, one tyre dealer suggested that investments be made to establish a tyre recycling plant to aide in the disposal of the tyres, which according to Corlette is one of the major problems that the country is confronted with right now.
However, he said, someone would have to invest in the project to recycle the tyres and not just suggest that it be done.
“That’s why from the onset, I said that the volume of tyres that we consume in Guyana does justify that investment,” Corlette contended.
Following this, Joseph Singh, another stakeholder, suggested that importers and dealers of used tyres are being used as “scape goats” for the lack of enforcement of the country’s littering laws.
“From what I’m getting, it is that the used tyre dealerships are paying for the shortcomings of other people. We have the EPA, the city municipality… who are responsible for engaging people on these laws. It’s not fair to blame the importer if someone else dumps the tyres. If the litter laws were properly enforced in this country we would not see tyres dumped as they are right now,” Singh stressed.
In concluding the session, Corlette encouraged stakeholders to take everything in stride. “It is a proposal and we are looking for a solution and somewhere in between our position and your position there is a solution and we will get there,” he urged.
Stakeholders were further assured that their suggestions were documented during the course of the session and they will be contacted for further consultations before anything is legislated.
The ban on used tyres announced during this year’s budget presentation, was listed under measures to be implemented in support of ‘greening’ the economy and protecting the environment.
