Guyana is losing as much as $3 to $6 billion in revenue every year from the failure to properly register imported heavy-duty vehicles.
In fact, according to Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, of the 2,600 heavy-duty vehicles imported over the last seven years, only 319 have been registered and some 1,200 which were granted exemptions have been relocated.
“From 2010 and more so from 2012, just about 2600 heavy-duty equipment was imported, but GRA only has 319 of those as registered. It means that about 2300 are outside there, somewhere. Out of that 2300, about 1200 were granted exemptions and 1000 were not granted exemptions. But out of the 1200 that were granted exemptions, they were moved to sectors that were not granted exemptions,” Statia told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
He explained that a person may buy a vehicle for use in the agriculture sector and access exemptions available to that sector only to turn around the next day and sell the vehicle to a miner.
“So he makes a windfall …but if these things were registered we would know, and that is why we want them all registered. We were doing some calculations and we are losing close to $3 to $6B on it,” Statia said adding that GRA has therefore embarked on an exercise to have all heavy-duty vehicles and equipment that were imported and are in use registered.
Owners of heavy-duty vehicles and equipment have been asked via advertisement to present a motor vehicle registration form and the relevant import documents and Bill of Sale to the Licence Revenue Office, Camp Street, George-town, to facilitate the registration process and thereafter have the vehicles/equipment examined.
Additionally, the Authority said that it will have strategic points to facilitate examination of vehicles/equipment in the interior, as well as in regional locations.
These heavy-duty vehicles/equipment include backhoes, bulldozers, combines, compactors, cranes, crawlers, excavators, forklifts, graders, loaders, rollers, skid steer loaders, skidders.
