Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat has invited jewellers and goldsmiths to a meeting today.
A notice on the ministry’s Facebook page said that the meeting will be held at 3 pm at Duke Lodge in Kingston.
The meeting comes in the wake of public concerns that jewellers have been engaged in acts to enable the smuggling of gold out of the country and are sourcing the precious metal from illicit dealers.
Three persons were recently held at the CJIA, Timehri with a large quantity of gold jewellery that had been silver plated. The jeweller who did the silver plating would have had to have been aware that smuggling was involved.
The Ministry recently issued a notice warning jewellers to only purchase gold from the Guyana Gold Board and stating that the geology and mines commission will be embarking on a countrywide enforcement campaign.
In the notice on the ministry’s Facebook page, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) advised goldsmiths, jewellers, and individuals engaged in the purchase of gold, that all gold used in the process of jewellery making and/or goldsmith operations must be exclusively bought from the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), which is the only entity authorized to sell gold within Guyana.
In keeping with Section 8 of the Guyana Gold Board Act, the GGMC said it is illegal for any person to sell any gold to a goldsmith or jeweller, or for a goldsmith or jeweller to purchase any gold from any person/entity other than the Guyana Gold Board.
It also noted that Section 58 of the Tax Act also imposes on licenced goldsmiths, specific reporting obligations to the GGMC within seven days of every month:
1. the quantity of gold purchased during the month in question;
2. the quantity of gold used during the said month in question;
3. the quantity of gold on hand on the last day of the said month;
4. the name and address of every person from whom the gold is bought.
“The GGMC will be embarking on a countrywide enforcement exercise to ensure that all Goldsmiths and/or Jewellers abide with the legal and reporting requirements as stipulated by law”, the notice warned.
