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GRA guards against placement of drugs on scanned containers – Sattaur
Concerns raised by Canadian agro-buyers that narcotics could be slipped into containers waiting on wharves to leave Guyana’s shores after being scanned by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) have been dismissed by Khurshid Sattaur, Commissioner General of GRA.
According to Sattaur, the Canadian buyers have a wrong understanding of GRA’s operations. He noted that containers are sealed after being scanned. Therefore, the only way the containers could be accessed is by breaking the seal.
Khurshid Sattaur, Commissioner General of GRA
Earlier this week, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) in a press statement had indicated that Canadian agro-buyers are concerned about the prevalence of drug finds inside shipments of Guyanese food products. In fact, this has limited the numbers of Canadian buyers who participated in a four-day Buyers Mission from Canada to Guyana.
The team of buyers and distributors from Toronto and Montreal was led by veteran trade expert, Bertrand Walle, attached to the Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) Canada.
Walle reportedly said that the group of Canadian buyers would have been bigger had it not been for pervasive concerns in business circles in Canada about the prevalence of drug finds inside shipments of Guyanese food products.
He questioned whether there was an explanation for reports that drugs were inserted into containers after they had passed through the Customs Department’s verification procedures.
He noted that there is a significant amount of interest abroad among importers about the likelihood of their containers being breached while on the wharves in Guyana and elsewhere. This was one of a few safety and other fundamental issues that still need to be addressed, Walle said.
According to Sattaur, the possibility exists that seals placed on containers could be broken, but a container with a broken seal would not be loaded onto a ship. The seal is not a hundred percent deterrent but it has been a major restriction.
In addition, GRA is involved in risk profiling which results in rigorous inspection of certain containers. He stressed that GRA operates in accordance with international best practices available in the world. Guyana has achieved similar successes to that of other countries.
Sattaur stressed that some of the businessmen who are complaining about poor systems are the ones putting drugs on the containers.
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