GRA to install $1B fraud detection software

Jun 18, 2017 News

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will be implementing a software solution to manage Custom’s data and aid in the efficiency of tax processing, prevention and detection of fraud and the expedition of goods clearance.
The software is the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)-developed Customs ESU- ASYCUDA System for Performance Measurement (ESU-ASYPM).
This was announced by Minister Joseph Harmon, during the weekly post-Cabinet Press Briefing held at the Ministry of the Presidency in Georgetown on Friday.
The software will be implemented via UNCTAD. The entity was also awarded the US$4.5 million (approximately $936.4M) contract to do so. The programme is expected to be launched by January next year.
The Software accepts the submission of electronic documents and includes warehousing and risk management modules.
It also has single-window capabilities. When a document or transaction is submitted to the GRA, the software gathers data from other agencies that it may require, for the processing of that transaction. It also eliminates the need for the manual retrieval of documents across agencies, Minister Harmon explained.
The imminent adoption of this software would come on the heels of recent revelations that the GRA would have failed to implement critical parts of an Information Technology (IT) system – the Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS) – for almost a decade. The consequences of the entity’s actions in this regard only contributed to billions of dollars in revenue leakages and rampant corruption.
This newspaper reported a few days ago that the GRA is now scampering to implement measures geared to bring an end to these huge losses each year.
The Commissioner-General of GRA, Godfrey Statia, had told Kaieteur News that TRIPS was intended to merge all departments by having a common database, where all tax records could be scanned or entered into the system and found when needed.
The system was introduced with the aim of boosting efficiency in the assessment, collection and accounting for revenue.
Statia said that the Authority has been trying to implement TRIPS completely since 2007. However, despite the billions of United States dollars spent to fully implement the system, the programme is still not up to date.
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, had announced Government’s intention to replace the software during his 2017 Budget Speech to the nation last year.
“Arising from the failure of the current TRIPS software, which has failed to provide complete solutions for effective customs administration, GRA will be moving to a more modern, customised, and proven customs solution.”

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