The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday announced that as one of the measures to protect the State’s revenue, all importers of steel and steel products will now be required to submit Mill Test certificates from the manufacturer of the product along with their customs declarations.
A GRA statement said that a recent review on the classification declared by importers on steel and steel products imported into Guyana, recognised that the Harmonised System (HS) classification cannot be correctly determined without the Mill Test Certificate. The GRA said that the Mill Test certificate shows the proportion of the elements in the steel imported, thus the need for the certificate to accompany each shipment of steel. This is in accordance with the provisions of Section 233 (1) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.
The GRA said that the Mill Test certificate must relate to the specific consignment in the declaration (invoices, Bills of Lading, quantities, specifications etc.) and can be aided by the supplier who would be able to obtain the certificate from the manufacturer.
The new requirement is in line with the Caricom Common External Tariff (CET) which also makes provisions for products of ‘non-alloy’ steel that attract a 10% customs duty. The GRA said that usually, most declarations submitted by importers label the product being imported as ‘alloy’ steel which attracts 5% customs duty. However, the Mill Test Certificate accompanying a shipment would help in clearing up any discrepancies as the certified classification will be verified by GRA’s Entry Processing Unit, with guidance from GRA’s Harmonised System Classification Committee (HSCC). The classification determined by the HSCC will be used to process and clear the shipments.
“GRA wishes to advise importers that if the required Mill Test Certificate is not submitted with the customs declaration, then the importer will be requested to deposit at the rate determined by GRA pending submission of the certificate. Should the HSCC determine a different classification upon examination of further documentation presented, a notice of demand will be issued to the importer under Section 17 (2) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01 for the additional taxes.
“It must also be noted that importers have the option of presenting their case to the Customs Tariff Tribunal for a determination should they challenge the classification after depositing the duties requested by GRA”, the revenue body added.
Importers are further advised that in order to limit the delay in processing time and clearance of their goods, they can apply to the HSCC in advance for classification decisions on their imports to confirm whether they have used the correct descriptions. The HSCC can be contacted at GRA through its Secretary, Reshma Budhram or at classification@gra.gov.gy.
