BK vehicle release should have attracted criminal charges

May 24, 2017 News

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-law says maximum $1M fine,  two years jail

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) erred badly two weeks ago when it released a

vehicle that had false number plates.

The vehicle and its driver should have been impounded right away and in addition to the tax matters being investigated, the police should have been called in.

The police involvement should have been automatic as under the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2008- (Act Number 12 of 2008), an offence was committed. It attracts jail time and a hefty fine of $1M mandated for the guilty party.

The laws were specially amended in 2008 after numerous crimes were being committed. They featured getaway vehicles with false plates. The fines back then were a few thousand dollars and many persons were pleading guilty, opting to pay the pittance.

In the amendment, an entirely new section- 106 A in the Principal Act, Cap. 51:02- was inserted to cater for cases of false number plates.

This is what it had to say with regards to fraudulent imitation, etc. of identification mark (number plate) or Certificate of Registration:

“Any person who fraudulently imitates, alters or uses, or fraudulently lends or allows to be used by any other person any identification mark or Certificate of Registration issued or deemed to have been issued on registration of a vehicle under this Act is liable to a fine of one million dollars ($1M) together with imprisonment for two years.”.

The presence of the false number plates would raise several possibilities of a number of other traffic breaches, including insurance, fitness and even the road service licence.

All have different charges.

The case of the 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser has been generating anger.

The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) reportedly arrived in Guyana in 2014 by BK but was never registered.

It was released, purportedly by GRA, under what is known as Permission For Immediate Delivery (PID). These are granted for perishables and vehicles and equipment that are needed for urgent contracts and emergency use.

It is unclear how the Land Cruiser qualified for PID and who under the previous administration green-lighted it.

From indications, an approval for duty free concession was never granted and the relevant taxes were never paid.

It was unclear who ordered the release of the vehicle when it came in and why GRA’s systems never red-flagged the unfinished transaction.

Two weeks ago, Customs officers on duty noticed the pearl white SUV on Main Street. The fact that the 2014 vehicle had PJJ number plates issued a decade ago stuck out like a sore thumb.

Inside, a man identified himself as a relative of Brian Tiwarie, owner of BK International, a major contractor.

The documents could not be produced.

The Customs officers were preparing to take the driver and vehicle into custody when they received a call. Both the vehicle and the driver were released.

GRA last week said that it had called in the contractor and it was agreed that a $31M payment in taxes and duties be made.

It was disclosed that the vehicle was armor-plated.  However, the vehicle was never reportedly held by GRA as is the case when paper works for the registration are in process.

Under regulations, no vehicle could be used on the roadways unless the necessary Customs paper work is completed. There were no details yesterday if GRA had taken the vehicle into its possession pending the payment of the duties and taxes.

On Monday, Opposition parliamentarian of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Juan Edghill, said that law should not differentiate for anyone, when it comes to ensuring justice.

“The law is no respecter of persons. The law applies to everybody.  It has nothing to do with class…it has nothing to do with status. The law is no respecter of persons.”

GRA, over the past year, has been cracking down on several persons who own high-end luxury rides brought into the country under duty free scams as well as smuggled. Many of the owners have reached a settlement with GRA rather than face a drawn-out, publicized battle in court.
GRA had claimed much success in recovering taxes from this area.
Last week, Edghill who sits as a member of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC), questioned how the vehicle was released from the wharf in the first place and whether the number plates affixed to the SUV when it was stopped were ever assigned.

He said that specifically, the Customs officials will have to report who called them to stand down. If they cannot say, it can be deduced that maybe no calls came and maybe the vehicle was released because corruption was involved.
He said that if a settlement has been indeed reached, GRA must state why the vehicle has not been placed in the possession of the authority.
If GRA and the Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia, cannot say, then it can be concluded that the vehicle was deliberately allowed to go and corruption was involved, Edghill said.

There are several cases of persons being jailed and fined under the 2008 amended law.

It was only last month that a Lusignan, East Demerara man, Elroy Livan, was jailed for one year and fined $1M for million for fraudulently imitating an identification mark. He was nabbed with a false number plate on a car in the Newtown, area.

In January 2015, a security guard, Leroy Holder, 36, of D’Urban Street, was jailed for two years and fined $1M. He had been found guilty of removing the original number plates and replacing them with false ones.

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