Dear Editor,
Reference is made to a letter in the April 19, 2017 Edition of the Kaieteur News by Mr. Moises Carpenay, under the heading of `Guyana Revenue Authority is robbing vehicle owners.’
The GRA would like to advise as follows:
- Section 17 (1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act Cap. 51:02 states “There shall be charged, levied and paid in respect of motor vehicles used or kept for use on roads, licence fees at the respective annual rate specified in the First Schedule. 2. The fees charged under this section shall be paid annually upon licences to be taken out by persons keeping vehicles for use, which licence shall expire on the anniversary date of the first registration of the vehicle. Based on the aforementioned, every owner of a registered motor vehicle used or kept for use on roads, would be required to pay the licence fees at the respective annual rate. The payment of the fee annually on the anniversary date of the first registration of the vehicle follows a 2012 amendment to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act.
If at any point the motor vehicle becomes circumstantially dormant, Section 10 (2) of the Act states – The owner of any motor vehicle which has been destroyed or rendered permanently unserviceable or has been permanently removed from Guyana shall notify the licencing officer of the fact within one month of the happening of the event.”
Therefore if the vehicle is not in service, as was the case with Mr. Carpenay, the onus is on the motorist to inform the GRA, otherwise it will be expected that he or she will be required to pay for all previous years.
Yours faithfully,
Melissa Baird
Manager (ag)
Public Relations
Guyana Revenue Authority
