Ramps Logistics Guyana (RLG) has once again found itself before the courts on allegations of making a false declaration to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) which claims that it inflated by billions, the price of a quantity of oil-well equipment imported on behalf of ExxonMobil Guyana.
Exxon is also facing the same charge.
According to reports, the revenue authority said that an investigation it conducted uncovered that in November of last year, Ramps Logistics allegedly inflated the invoice value for a consignment of goods on behalf of ExxonMobil.
According to a report seen by this newspaper, on November 16th last, Ramps declared to Customs that the goods were valued at US$12,192,103,923.91
The actual cost, however, of the imported goods the GRA said was US$4,467,662.
Additionally, reports say that Ramps Logistics allegedly falsely declared itself as being the supplier of the goods imported by ExxonMobil when the suppliers were Baker Hughes and Technip FMC.
As a result, the revenue authority said that in January, of this year Ramps Logistics was made to show cause why proceedings should not be instituted against it for violating the Customs Act.
According to reports, two weeks later Ramps responded via letter stating among other things that the false declaration was prepared based on information provided by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited through its KABAL System.
The reports said that to further support its claims Ramps presented a demonstration of how the information was extracted from Exxon’s KABAL System.
In keeping with the principles of natural justice, the GRA thereafter dispatched a letter dated March 18th 2024 to ExxonMobil requesting it to show cause why legal proceedings should not be instituted against it.
Sources say that the GRA has since granted ExxonMobil an additional 14 days to provide its response no later than next Tuesday—April 30th.
Particulars of the complaint against both Ramps and Exxon are that contrary to the Customs Act, they on November 16th, 2023 falsely declared to the Guyana Revenue Authority that the value for a quantity of oil-well equipment and supplies was USD$12,192,103,923.91
Background
Back in October 2022, the GRA filed 10 charges against Ramps Logistics for false declarations; but the company had said that the charges were null and void and pointed out that the court action had come just days after it had sought judicial review over the conduct of the Local Content Secretariat.
Like with the current case filed against Ramps, the charges in October 2022 the GRA said stemmed after investigations carried out by its Law Enforcement and Investi-gations Division.
The investigation determined, among other things, that during the period 2021 to 2022, RLG – whose parent company is in Trinidad and Tobago – made several untrue declarations to the Revenue Authority.
One of those charges stated that “The defendant on the 29th day of June 2022 at lot 200-201 Camp Street, Georgetown, a place in the Georgetown Magisterial District, made and subscribed a false declaration to the Revenue Authority, to wit the defendant falsely declared itself to be the sellers of a quantity of Barite listed on invoice number INV#MVKAWA1EP-20 dated on the 21st day of March 2022.”
On April 25 last year, Ramps said that it had been cleared of all charges brought against it by the GRA.
In a press release, Ramps Logistics said that it made its final appearance in the Georgetown Magis-trate’s Court #6 before Magistrate Dylon Bess in the matter brought by the GRA on October 5th, 2022.
