Sanata complex deal…Tax holidays not yet granted by GRA

Jun 16, 2008 News

Law contains deficiencies, inaccuracies, not exhaustive enough – Finance Ministry

Government says that the legislation regarding tax holidays and concessions contain a number of obvious deficiencies and various inaccuracies and omissions.

This is according to a release from the Ministry of Finance which sought to clarify the recent controversy surrounding the tax holidays and tax concessions granted to Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. (QAII) for the privatization of the Sanata Textiles Complex.
Given the identified shortcomings of the necessary legislation, namely the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act and the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act 2003, the Finance Ministry announced that Government will be moving to amend the law to clearly provide for all pioneering projects, infrastructure projects, and to correct the list of regions eligible for tax holidays.
Currently, the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act states: “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Income Tax Act or the Corporation Tax Act, it is hereby provided that the Minister may grant an exemption from Corporation Tax with respect to income from economic activity qualifying under one of the following circumstances…The activity demonstrably creates new employment in Regions One, Eight, Nine and 10…The activity is new economic activity in one of the following fields…Non-traditional agro processing (excluding sugar refining, rice milling and chicken farming); information and communications technology (excluding retail and distribution); petroleum exploration, extraction, or refining; mineral exploration, extraction, or refining; tourist hotels or eco-tourist hotels.”

The deal currently in a quandary is located in Region Four and does not fit any of the stated criteria.
The explanatory memorandum that accompanied the 2003 Amendment explained that it was meant to modify the tax holiday provisions of that Act, “The amendments limit the exemption from corporate tax to new firms that create new employment in the specified depressed regions, and to firms that conduct new economic activity in the specified fields.”
According to the release, “It has always been, and continues to be, Government’s intention to treat with pioneer industries that create employment regardless of location, and large investments in identified regions regardless of the sector of investment. The current articulation in the law is not exhaustive with respect to the policy areas that the Government is seeking to encourage investment and employment in via tax holidays.”
The special conditions surrounding the deal was defended by the Finance Ministry which stated the two Sanata projects earmarked for tax holidays were deserving, given that the proposed activities were currently not performed in Guyana and represented new pioneer projects of a developmental and risk taking nature with employment and investment benefits.
“The Memorandum of Understanding provided for two of the five firms to be operated at Sanata to be granted tax holidays, namely the textile and antibiotics operations have not yet been granted to QAII by the GRA and the Minister of Finance,” the release stated.
These tax holidays were announced by Head of Go-Invest, Geoff Da Silva, last month. He said that the tax concessions were stated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed between Go-Invest and QAII in March 2008.
“The MOU provided for two of the five firms to be operated at Sanata to be granted tax holidays, namely the textile and antibiotics operations.”
During that press briefing it was announced that the concessions granted to the investors of the Sanata Textiles complex were in accordance with the law.

(QAII), owner of the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC), last year struck a deal with Government for a proposed US$30 million investment over a three-year period under an ambitious plan to employ over 600 persons at the 300,000 square foot property of Sanata Textiles at Ruimveldt..
However, since the announcement of the privatization, there have been several questions raised over the nature of the concessions granted.
Da Silva had said that a planned antibiotics plant and research facility at the complex has been granted a five-year tax holiday under the Fiscal Enactment Amendment Act, and there is the possibility that another five years could be granted based on performance.
Another part of the investment, a textile operation which will produce dye and print denim fabrics, has also been granted a five-year tax holiday, and Government will be looking to “help” with the fuel costs since this cost was one of the main factors that caused a Chinese investor to pull out.
Under various regulations, including the VAT Act, the Excise Tax Act, Income Tax in Aid of Industry Act, and the Investment Act, new investors has a right to concessions, Da Silva said.
Concessions have also been granted on equipment and generator sets, raw materials and other inputs to be used, as well as all building materials for the rehabilitation and repairs to the complex. There have also been concessions for security equipment and vehicles that are required to be used in the manufacturing process.
The value of concessions has reportedly been calculated to total some $100M.
Upon completion, the complex will house a modern textile mill for gauze, bandages and denim production; a state-of-the-art printery, an antibiotics plant and a research and development facility; a pharmaceutical export processing facility and a hardware manufacturing division.
Already, the latest addition to printed daily newspapers — the ‘Guyana Times’ — has emanated from the complex.