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GRA investigating illegal accounting system

Nov 03, 2009 News

– seizes records of several suspected businesses

 

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says that it is investigating several instances of businesses deliberately using a double accounting system to hide revenue.

According to GRA Commissioner, Khurshid Sattaur, raids have already been conducted on a number of businesses and records seized.

Speaking with Kaieteur News last evening, Sattaur explained that based on reports, GRA learnt that businesses would normally have one accounting system to show a certain number of payments – coming in and going out. This is the one that would be available to the tax inspectors when they come calling.

Then there is the true record which businesses would attempt to keep secret.

The latter is the one that hides the true revenue of the business and which is used to deny GRA of its taxes, Sattaur said. It is almost common knowledge that some businesses have developed an elaborate system to escape taxes.

Quite of number of shoppers have reported that some stores would ask whether that customer would require receipts. With a receipt, the value-added tax (VAT) would have to be included in the final price. Without the receipt, no VAT is charged.

With the 16% VAT sometimes adding up to literally thousands of dollars, there are quite a few persons who opt for this.

GRA sources believe that millions of dollars are being lost in taxes because of the illegal double accounting system. Meanwhile, the Commissioner last night also believed that some employees of GRA may even be involved in tipping off businesses before raids are carried out.

While efforts are made to keep secret the raids, “leaks” have caused GRA to arrive too late at some business places where the illegal records were already stashed.

However, the tax official said that GRA has information and will be working to develop these.

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