Dear Editor,
I am intervening as the mandated representative of a Guyanese family resident in Canada.
In Guyana a TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number ) is essential when doing business with the GRA. Regarding the required documents when applying for the said TIN, the GRA’s website states as follow:
Below is a list of the supporting documents required by all individuals applying for a Taxpayer Identification Number.
Proof of Address
Form of Identification (at least 1)
Passport
National ID
Driver’s Licence
Marriage Certificate (if Marital Status is Married) Deed Poll (in cases of name changes)
Case in question pertains to a Guyanese, resident overseas for the past five decades+ who finds herself entangled in a legal imbroglio with a lawyer in Guyana, as she endeavours to obtain a TIN in order to gift a property to her biological daughter.
Below please find the remarks Item 3 by the lawyer’/ assistant regarding the delay due to inability to get the actual hardcopy of the passport.
Item 3. The TIN Section at GRA requires your original – hardcopy of your Passport or ID when submitting the application for TINs. We are not in receipt of the said Original Passport or ID just a copy which is not acceptable.
It is my sincere hope that both the lawyer and/ or his paralegal assistant are quite aware that a passport remains the property of the issuing country, and not the individual. Additionally, certain restrictions apply regarding transmission of passports across international borders.
What explanation will be proffered to the inquiring authorities in the event the passport is intercepted?
Not to mention the fact that the name of the involved country is Guyana, where to this day and present time all flights entering the US and Canada are flagged, and extra Immigration officers along with canine representatives are put on duty.
Compounding my awe is the fact that a matter so simple as the obtaining of a TIN, could serve as the anathema that is seemingly doing some Guyanese in.
God Save Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)