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The GRA and its continuing woes
The Guyana Revenue Authority was established in January 2000, with the merger of the Inland Revenue Department, commonly known as the Income Tax Department, and the Customs and Excise Department. This change occurred with the passing of the Revenue Authority Act, No. 13 of 1996. Its first Commissioner-General (CG) was Mr. Edgar Heyligar, who was replaced by Mr. Khurshid Sattaur.
At the change of government last year, Mr. Sattaur was sent on administrative leave to accommodate a forensic audit on the GRA. He was subsequently asked to resign a few months later and was replaced by the current acting CG, Ms. Ingrid Griffith, who is shortlisted to be interviewed for the position of CG.
The goals of the GRA are to provide quality and accessible service at an affordable cost to the public in a fair, impartial and timely manner, and to educate the nation about its responsibilities to enforce compliance of the country’s tax, trade and customs laws.
It should have been an open, transparent and accountable institution, but it became obvious that the GRA has deviated from its core principles. Numerous complaints from the public about the poor services being offered by the GRA proved that the institution has not lived up to its goals. The GRA is faced with many woes such as poor services, low standards and having people waiting in long lines for hours before being served, all of which are unacceptable. The long hours of waiting obviously result in loss of production for the country, because most people take time-off from their jobs to transact business at the GRA.
As a service institution, the image of the GRA could improve if its senior management establishes benchmarks for how quickly it can serve the people and make them feel welcome. This will require proper preparation and planning, and an efficient and competent staff. But its management should know that the negative messages or comments on social media or simply by word of mouth about the poor treatment people receive at the GRA could be toxic for the organization, even though some would speak of a good experience. Such comments are very difficult to refute. Is the management of GRA not aware of the complaints? How much longer will the public tolerate such poor service?
The GRA has vital responsibilities, including the collection of taxes and duties, and to ensure there are no breaches in the importation or exportation of illegal substances or products. But it must find ways to reduce those long lines and treat its clients with respect.
It is true that the GRA has been known to have manpower shortages which in most cases are caused by budgetary constraints or the failure by the GRA to fill vacant positions in a timely manner, but these are not justifiable reasons for the public to encounter poor customer service. This is why the ruling elite should step in and address these woes immediately.
The majority of the staff at the GRA are duly qualified and dedicated public officers, who do the right thing every day. They are truly committed to making the country better. But, there are of course the exceptions who could not care less about the customers, and nothing is being done about their behaviour, because some of the senior staffers are political appointees who override the decisions of those senior officers who came through the ranks and are in supervisory positions. Many are often sidelined by the political appointees who are far less qualified.
The authority seems to be tiptoeing around this problem in fear of offending its political appointees.
The GRA must be allowed to focus on its primary mission, which is not to discriminate in its collection of taxes and duties, and to ensure a pleasant experience for all of its customers.
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When Guyana stop having political appointees at this level,, then and only then will the system work for the benefit of the people as it is meant to.