Illegal vehicles entering Guyana via borders despite GRA efforts

Aug 03, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Illegal vehicles continue to enter Guyana via the borders despite the efforts of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday. He noted that work is ongoing to lessen the incidence of vehicle smuggling.

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia

The PAC is currently examining the Auditor General report of 2019, which had listed as many as 195 vehicle-related seizures for that year.

The GRA Commissioner General noted that the issue is especially with the Lethem/ Brazil border.

“For instance, it was two to three weeks ago; we found a vehicle that was smuggled through Lethem with Brazilian number plates, in Georgetown with Guyanese number plates.”

“And we also found not only Lethem, but that also happens from Suriname. So all we can do is keep a record of all the vehicles that are in Guyana, based on whether they come through the borders,” Statia said.

Moreover, he said that there are some instances where vehicles come into Guyana with legal number plates, but they may have been stolen in Brazil. He explained that sometimes GRA is able to identify these vehicles.

The GRA has always made it clear that a zero-tolerance approach is being adopted against smuggling and any form of tax evasion; and, as such, offenders will face penalties as stipulated under the laws, inclusive of prosecution.

It has also issued warnings over the use of unregistered vehicles and the misuse of trade plates on vehicles traversing the country’s roadway. There are laws governing the use of unregistered vehicles and trade plates and failure to comply will result in the tax regulatory body and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) taking action.

In addition to the 2019 report, the Auditor General’s 2018 report has highlighted a disturbing trend of vehicles entering Guyana via the Lethem/Brazil border crossing and disappearing without a trace.

A vehicular checkpoint at the Brazil/Lethem border.

According to the AG’s 2018 report, an examination of the incoming and outgoing foreign vehicles and passengers traversing the border area revealed that there were 29,689 foreign vehicles entering Guyana and only 28,933 vehicles exiting Guyana resulting in 766 vehicles not exiting Guyana as at the time of audit in August 2019.

Similarly, in 2017, the report noted that there were 30,669 foreign vehicles entering Guyana and only 29,023 vehicles exiting Guyana, resulting in 1,646 not exiting Guyana.

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Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, Guyana, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Public Accounts Committee

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