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Settlements at GRA go on all the time – Finance Minister
– Disagrees with Jagdeo’s position on DDL settlement
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has dismissed the claims made by the former President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Minister of finance, Winston Jordan
that the tax settlement derived at between the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), will pave the way for other companies to follow.
The Minister was at the time being quizzed at a recent press conference hosted at the Ministry of Finance.
Jordan said that settlements at the GRA go on all the time. The authority “didn’t wake up overnight and decide to settle”. Government did not give up $5 billion in exchange for $1.5 billion.
Jagdeo, just after the settlement was made public, aired his concerns saying that a $1.5 Billion Consumption and Excise Tax Settlement could see other companies following pattern; requesting to be treated similarly. This move according to the Former President could see the National Treasury losing a total of $60 Billion.
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) welcomed the settlement and urged the GRA to engage other “aggrieved companies to apply similar formulae to correct distortions in the market place resulting from this action.”
Jordan said that GRA has taken the “sound” decision to settle the matter because the authority had lost all the cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal over the past 14 years.
He assured that any attempt that should be made by other businesses will be “vigorously” opposed based on principles that underline the settlement with DDL.
In recent reports – the GRA had levied $5.4 billion in Consumption Tax back in 2002. It was challenged in the
Former President and Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo
High Court by DDL.
In the end, the out-of-court settlement has resulted in the company agreeing to pay $1.5 Billion of which $100M have been already paid to the GRA.
Minister Jordan said that the issue had been languishing for 14 years. Then again, he said that there may be more than what appears on the surface. He recalled that former head of DDL, Yesu Persaud, had criticized Jagdeo for granting concessions to Ramroop’s Sanata Complex.
Persaud got a tongue lashing from Jagdeo.
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