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GRA warns businesses not to charge customers $10 environmental bottle tax
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has warned local manufacturers and importers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and water that the ‘Environmental Levy’ of $10 being applied to non-returnable bottles which came into effect on February 1, 2017 must not be applied to Tax Invoices and receipts given to customers as an additional charge to them.
The levy is in accordance with amendments to Section 7A (1) of the Customs Act which states as follows: “Notwithstanding anything in this Act or in any other written law, there shall be raised, levied and collected a levy in this section referred to as an environmental levy, at a rate of ten dollars on every non- returnable unit of metal, plastic or glass container of any alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage or water, whether imported, locally manufactured or produced in Guyana.”
In addition, Section 7A (2) states “Except as otherwise provided, the importer, local manufacturer or producer of any beverage or water referred to in subsection (1) shall pay the levy to the Commissioner-General in relation to: –
(a) goods imported and not warehoused;
(b) goods imported and warehoused and removed from the warehouse;
(c) goods manufactured or produced in Guyana and removed from the warehouse, factory, bond, or other place of storage
Notwithstanding the above, the GRA has received reports that the levy is being shown to customers separately on their bills when purchases are made.
“The GRA wishes to make it clear that this levy is applicable only to the importer, manufacturer, or producer of such goods, in accordance with Section 7A (2), and not the consumer of the goods.
This means that businesses including supermarkets, distributors, retailers, etc must not charge the environmental levy and should not show this on the bill given to customers, as this will be in violation of the law.”
As such, GRA requests that all businesses guilty of this practice desist from doing so immediately.
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