The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is defending its use of the whistleblower policy embedded in the Customs Act stressing that since its implementation it has been able to recover “billions of dollars in revenue”.
In a statement on Friday, GRA noted that Section 230 of the Act provides that, “the Commissioner-General may, with the approval of the Minister, reward any person who informs him of any offence against the customs laws or assists in the recovery of any fine or penalty”.
Specifically the authority has for decades rewarded whistleblowers 10% of any fines or penalties recovered based on the information they provide.
“Once the information provided results in the successful recovery of fines or penalties, the whistleblower shall be rewarded with a sum equivalent to 10% of all fines recovered from the seizure of the uncustomed, prohibited or restricted goods as approved by the Government of Guyana,” the statement said.
While stressing that the policy along with the method of payment were thoroughly scrutinized and approved by the Office of the Auditor-General and all other competent authorities, required under the Laws of Guyana, the GRA has encouraged members of the public to continue to provide information on smuggling and tax evasion.
The statement appears to have been issued in response to public criticism of an active GRA investigation related to the Motor Vessel “President” which was detained by the Coast Guard in April.
According to the GRA, an attempt was made to settle the matter out of Court since the authority not only recognized that court proceedings could be protracted but also acknowledged that the parties involved were first-time offenders.
“The GRA in keeping with its mandate of optimization of revenue collection, simultaneously facilitated discussions with the Attorney-at-Law representing the owners of the vessel and fuel on a proposed settlement and instituted proceedings for the breaches of the Customs Act,” the statement stressed, adding that settlement offers were rejected on both sides before an agreement was reached in July.
“A consensus was reached and agreed upon by all parties involved. Details of the proposed settlement were shared with the policymakers/Government of Guyana on the way forward. However, to date the agreed settlement was not honoured by the owners of the vessel and fuel,” it said, adding that the matters remain in progress before the courts.
