Latest update April 6th, 2025 6:33 AM
Latest News
- High Court bars GRA from seizing Team Mohamed’s luxury vehicles
- Oil spill will hit Guyana’s shores before capping stack arrives to plug leak
- UN says 100 children killed or injured in Gaza every day since war resumed
- Guyana received US$605M oil money in first quarter of 2025
- ‘Tariff war’ spells grave danger for the Region – CARICOM Chair Mottley
GRA releases comprehensive tax exemption guide for tourism sector
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in collaboration with the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana(THAG) and the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) has published a comprehensive Tax Exemption Guide for the Tourism Sector.
Deputy Director of the WCO, Brenda Mundia (centre) shares a photo with Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia (immediate right), Deputy Commissioner-General, Hema Khan (immediate left) and Deputy Commissioners of Customs, Excise and Trade Operations, Rohan Beekhoo (second left) and Patrick Hyman (far left). Also in photo are Assistant Commissioner, Inland Revenue, Yonette Heyligar, and Assistant Commissioner, Customs, Sean Richmond.
The Guide, which is in the form of a 23-page booklet, aims to encourage investment in the tourism sector by defining, in a structured manner, clear cut guidelines on what these tax concessions are, the level of tax concessions available to various categories of tourism stakeholders, and how they can be accessed, GRA explained yesterday.
The categories include Accommodation – hotels, guesthouses and inns; Lodges and resorts and Tour operators and tour guides.
For greater clarity, the categories are further broken into new hotels, guest houses and inns, new lodges or resorts, expansion of hotels, guest houses and inns and expansion of lodges and resorts that will all benefit from tax exemptions.
GRA explained that in relation to tours, information is provided for tour operators in the small, medium and large categories including tourist guides.
“These tourism establishments and operators/guides must be licensed by the GTA to be able to benefit from these tourism exemptions.”
A section of the guide places emphasis on motor vehicles; i.e. those that are shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner-General to be used exclusively overland in the tourism industry in Regions 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10 for the transport of persons for incorporated entities; motor buses with 12 or more seats, not exceeding four years old and used exclusively for the transportation of tourists anywhere in Guyana, that may be eligible for tax exemptions.
In an invited comment, Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar, disclosed that: “We are working more closely with stakeholders to ensure that tourism policy supports green growth and low carbon tourism development.”
The GRA statement said that the collaboration between the Ministry of Business, GRA, and tourism private sector reflects a shared commitment to create a positive, progressive, and coherent policy and regulatory environment that fosters increased investment and sustainable development in the growing tourism sector.
Given the dynamic nature of the tax regime, the booklet will be subject to review based on legislative/parliamentary changes.
Both the GRA and GTA will be uploading electronic copies of the booklet on their websites shortly.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
This must not be our hour of humiliation
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- There are moments in the history of nations when fate lays before them a choice not of... more
The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- Recent media stories have suggested that King Charles III could “invite” the United... more
Weekend Cartoon
