October 20, 2010

It has come to the attention of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry that some importers who are granted Permits for Immediate Delivery (PID) by the Guyana Revenue Authority have in the past failed to provide accurate information on the Declaration which causes frequent processing delays.

GCCI understands that in some instances importers have also failed to clear the PID entry within the statutory ten days allowed by Regulations and Law.

The Chamber wishes to condemn these actions by members of the business community and encourage importers to adhere to the stipulated regulations.

The GRA has advised that its procedure for releases of goods referred to as Permit for Immediate Delivery (PID) applies principally to tax exempted deliveries.  However, it is also extended to regular importers, particularly in the case of perishables.

GRA has explained that unprocessed PIDs for goods create difficulties for them, including, revenue shortfalls and an incomplete process in cases where taxes are due and payable.  Additionally, it leads to records not being updated, which results in the national statistics on trade to be inaccurate.

GCCI also understands that there are incomplete PIDs going back as far as 2002. The Chamber would like to urge importers to act expeditiously in completing these.

A related issue is that of the abuse of another facility called Prior To Processing (PTP). The GRA has said that this facility, which is used for time-sensitive commodities and where the goods are released before taxes are paid, has been routinely abused by importers.

Specifically, some 2,500 entries have not been processed to date. Under this facility, firms and agencies are required to follow up on the release the following day in order to pay the taxes due.

Once again, the GCCI urges members of the Chamber and the larger business community to take note of these issues and comply accordingly.