Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
GRA had informed lawyer that Hummer would be disposed of
A Hummer that was at the centre of a probe was seized last year and disposed of by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) after the alleged owner was unable to prove linkages.
The seized Hummer SUV with the army number plates.
The Hummer had moved from being registered by the Ministry of Health to now be in the control of the army.
It appeared that the GRA refused the settlement because the owner’s name did not surface in the registration.
Writing attorney-at-law, Sase Gunraj, on June 4, 2018, GRA’s Head of Law Enforcement, Fitzroy Corlette, said that the Hummer with registration number PWW 1458 was seized for being utilised contrary to the purpose for which tax exemptions were granted.
GRA said that the investigation conducted revealed, among other
The registration indicating that the Hummer was in the name of the Ministry of Health
things, that the said motor vehicle was not registered to the lawyer’s client.
“In light of the foregoing, GRA cannot accept any settlement from your client with regards to this motor vehicle. As a result, the motor vehicle will be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.”
According to recently released photos, the Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) is now using an army number plate, DFB 1001.
“When it is seized, it belongs to the government,” a GRA official explained this week.
In late February last year, GRA officials seized the vehicle. A non-governmental organisation (NGO) came under the spotlight as a result.
According to Government officials, the 2007 HU3 model Hummer landed here about four years ago. It was owned by a US-based Guyanese. The vehicle came here from Suriname and was used for a while by the man.
However, the New York businessman was about to take the vehicle back when he was told that it could be registered here, without the necessary taxes and duties being waived.
The businessman reportedly signed it over to an NGO named Hope For The Nation Foundation.
The vehicle was registered, as PWW 1458, in April 2017.
In January 2018, it was reported that the businessman became suspicious when he came to Guyana and was not allowed to use the SUV. It was only then that he shockingly learnt that the vehicle was registered to the Ministry of Health.
The Hope For The Nation Foundation has reportedly been donating medical and other supplies to Guyana.
The matter was recently reported to the Guyana Revenue Authority, which immediately sprang into action.
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