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Sattaur denies corruption at Licence Revenue Office

Dec 18, 2009 News

Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur has denied that there is corruption at the Licence Revenue Office despite overwhelming evidence to support such allegations.
Sattaur was referring to an article carried by this newspaper under the caption ‘Businessman suffers as a result of GRA Corruption – purchased unregistered vehicle’.
According to Sattaur, the article appears to be a calculated approach to deliberately tarnish the image of the Guyana Revenue Authority even as the entity takes actions to augment its systems towards the provision of better services complimented with higher levels of transparency.
The article quoted a letter from businessman Bhola Nauth, in which he stated that his vehicle was seized by the GRA despite the fact that it was being operated for the past five years on the road by its previous owner.
But when Bhola Nauth attempted to resell the vehicle in November, the GRA indicated that it was unregistered.
The GRA then proceed to seize the vehicle and demanded that the businessman pay in excess of $6M in taxes.
But according to the Commissioner-General, the steps taken to automate the systems at the Licence Revenue Office were designed to exposed unscrupulous persons who have been engaged in fraudulent practices towards defrauding the revenue payable on Motor Vehicles as well as other related criminal activities, while successfully eluding enforcement efforts.
“I wish to advise that regularization of the status of these vehicles goes without question and those persons who in the past used forged and other bogus Motor Vehicles documents to take advantage of cracks in the previous manually operated system as they hid from the regulatory authorities, will be prosecuted when found,” Sattaur explained.
He said that it is clear that the approach of this newspaper to the issue has resulted in the publication of this biased and unqualified article, which lacks the credence of proper professional investigative journalism.
“From a cursory examination of the central points of your article, there are several questions which remain unanswered and which will determine if the proper procedures for having the vehicle transferred to Mr. Bhola Nauth were followed and confirm whether or not, there was the involvement of the Licence Revenue Office.”
To support the initial article this newspaper was provided with copies of what appeared to be genuine documents from the Licence Revenue Office, including the new computerized Road Service Licence, two certificates of registration bearing the LRO triangular stamp as well as a receipt with a GRA stamp representing payment for the transfer of registration, signed by C. Collymore.
The transfer fee of $1000 was paid by Bhola Nauth himself in April this year.
Sattaur said that the GRA categorically refutes this position which according to him seeks to place an unjustified degrading outlook on the organization as well as to cause irreparable damage to the public image of the GRA.

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