DDL wins appeal against GRA

Aug 15, 2008 News

Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), one of the leading manufacturers of wines and spirits in Guyana, reported yesterday that the company is cooperating with officers from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) who visited the company’s Diamond operations to inspect the books.
The visit by the GRA officers came on the heels of a ruling by the Guyana Court of Appeal upholding a High Court judgment in favour of DDL against the GRA with respect of the calculation of the consumption tax.
In 2002, DDL asked the court to rule that the company was being taxed twice by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) with respect to Consumption Tax on alcohol products manufactured at Diamond and sold on the local market.
The case covered manufacturing activity between January 2001 and September 2002.
The amounts of consumption tax claimed by GRA were based on a valuation of the goods which was based on a wholesale price list of DDL. DDL argued that the wholesale price list already included the consumption tax on the products as well as the cost of delivery by DDL to the customer, and asked that the consumption tax be based on the valuation of the products when held in its Customs Bond.
Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes, in her written judgment in the High Court, found that the inclusion by GRA in the taxable value of the tax itself (being 50 per cent) and the cost of delivery of the goods was unlawful and not in keeping with the provisions of the Consumption Tax Act Chapter 80:02 (which has since been replaced by new legislation).
The decision by Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes in favour of DDL was dated February 1, 2005. This decision was appealed by the Guyana Revenue Authority.
On July 31, last, the Guyana Court of Appeal, comprising Chancellor (ag.), Justice Carl Singh, Chief Justice (ag.) Ian Chang and Justice William Ramlal unanimously agreed with the main rulings of Justice Gregory-Barnes and dismissed the appeal by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
For the period in dispute, DDL had paid consumption tax on a wholesale valuation of the goods based on the company’s cost of production plus 15 per cent mark-up, in keeping with a previous statement by President Jagdeo at the annual general meeting of the Guyana Manufacturers’ Association in response to representations made to him by the Association.

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DDL wins appeal against GRA

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