AG Report reveals…Customs lost over $170M in 2015

Nov 12, 2016 News

…after revocation of Environmental Tax, decline in fuel price

The Customs and Trade Administration, which falls under the Guyana Revenue Authority, recorded a shortfall of over $170M during 2015. This was highlighted in the latest Auditor General Report.
Auditor General Deodat Sharma reported that according to the Statement of Receipts and Disbursements, amounts totaling $13.326B were estimated to be collected from customs and trade taxes, fees, fines and licences for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2015.
However, Sharma said that there was a shortfall of $170.025M in collection, since only $13.156B was collected and paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Sharma said that the shortfall was due mainly to an over-estimation of import duties based on expected performance, a decrease in the values of some categories of beverages imported in non-returnable containers and an amendment to Section 7A of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01, which prohibited the collection of a $10 Environmental Tax on every unit of non-returnable containers of imported beverage.
Sharma noted that an import duty was the main source of revenue collection and represents 94 percent of the total amounts collected in respect of Customs and Trade Taxes.
The Auditor said that “amounts collected (for import tax) and paid into the Consolidated Fund was $12.357 billion as against the approved estimates of $12.430 billion”. This represented a shortfall of $73.041M.
Customs was quoted in the Auditor General’s report as saying that “the revocation of the Environmental Tax on beverage containers, combined with the precipitous decline in the price of fuel, on which we collected an ad valorem tax, contributed to the shortfall. This was aggravated by a decline in mining activities which resulted to less demand for taxable fuel used within that industry.”

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