Chief Justice orders release of remigrant’s SUV

Dec 04, 2024 News

---

—declares GRA’s actions illegal

Kaieteur News- Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire ruled on Tuesday, that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) acted unlawfully by questioning the source of funds used by remigrant Reaz Manjoor to purchase a vehicle.

The Chief Justice quashed the GRA’s demand for further financial information and ordered the immediate release of Manjoor’s Toyota Landcruiser, which had been held at the port since January 2024. This is according to a press release from attorney Siand Dhurjon.

Manjoor returned to Guyana in August 2023 after spending over 10 years in the United States. Seeking new opportunities in his home country, he applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Minister Hugh Todd granted him remigrant status on 23rd August 2023. Minister Todd had informed Mr. Godfrey Statia, the head of the Guyana Revenue Authority, of this decision.

Remigrants, after being awarded their remigrant status by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, benefit from preferential tax conditions when they import a vehicle and their other personal effects. A remigrant who imports a vehicle such as the 2023 LC300 Toyota Landcruiser with an engine size of 3,500cc would only have to pay an excise tax of 30% (approximately $4,300,000). Without the remigrant status, the taxes for the same Landcruiser would cost $43,784,000. Of that amount $6,627,000 would be customs duties, $29,983,000 would be excise taxes and $7,174,000 would be the value-added taxes.

Notably, the Chief Justice granted all of the orders sought by Dhurjon on behalf of his client Manjoor. The Chief Justice also issued declarations stating that the Landcruiser was the property of Manjoor and that Manjoor had been duly recognized as a remigrant by Minister Hugh Todd. The Chief Justice ruled that the GRA’s requirement for, “credible information regarding his source of funding,” had been illegal.

An order of certiorari was issued to quash this requirement. The Chief Justice also commanded, by order of mandamus, that the GRA grant Manjoor all applicable tax exemptions as a remigrant and that they clear and release the vehicle once Manjoor paid the relevant taxes.

Manjoor’s Landcruiser, which had arrived in Guyana on 18th January this year, had been stored on the wharf, accruing storage fees. The Chief Justice ordered the GRA to pay the storage costs until the vehicle’s release, which had been estimated by Manjoor to be just under $1,000,000. Additionally, the Court ordered the GRA to pay Manjoor $350,000 in legal costs by 31st December 2024. The Chief Justice remarked that the costs had been high because “we have traversed this road before and they (the GRA) seem not to understand.”

After the ruling, GRA counsel Ms. Nicklin Belgrave sought leave to appeal, but the Chief Justice denied the request, stating, “I’m not granting leave to appeal. This here is beyond the pale. You have no law, there is no provision.”

According to the release, Manjoor had submitted all required documents to the GRA to qualify for his tax exemptions. However, instead of granting the exemptions, GRA officials began requesting additional financial information. In response, Manjoor fully cooperated, providing various documents, including affidavits, a letter explaining his case, bank statements showing the transactions related to the vehicle purchase, a copy of the cheque used, the receipt from the auto dealership, wire transfer details from his aunt who provided the funds, and other relevant paperwork.

The GRA suspended all processing of Manjoor’s tax exemptions until he could provide information to satisfy them.  The GRA provided nothing in writing to Mr. Manjoor of their position until 30th April, 2024 when Mr. Gavin Low, Deputy Commissioner of the GRA wrote to Mr. Manjoor stating that “it is the duty of the GRA to verify the legitimacy of any transaction that has tax implications…the GRA is not satisfied that you have displayed credible information regarding your source of funding.”

Manjoor then retained Dhurjon to assist with the matter. On 8th August 2024, Dhurjon sent a letter to the GRA warning of potential legal action if the tax exemptions were not granted and the vehicle was not cleared for release. In his letter, Dhurjon argued that the GRA’s demands for information about the source of funding were illegal and could not be used to deny Manjoor his tax exemptions. Despite this, the GRA did not respond to Dhurjon’s letter or a follow-up email sent weeks later.

On 28th October, 2024, Mr. Manjoor instituted proceedings against the GRA over its failure to grant him his tax exemptions and to permit the clearance of his vehicle.  In his affidavit filed on behalf of the GRA, Gavin Low claimed that the individual who provided Manjoor with the funds for the vehicle purchase was not recognized in their system, and that Manjoor had failed to provide “valid identification” for her.  Low further stated that the GRA’s responsibility was to ensure that the money used by Manjoor was not derived from illegal activities such as money laundering or tax evasion. He emphasized that the GRA had not denied Manjoor his tax exemption, but was simply waiting for the source of funds to be “substantiated.”

Dhurjon submitted to the Court that there was no provision known to law that permitted the GRA to require a remigrant to substantiate their source of funding and that was irrelevant to the administrative process of granting the necessary tax exemptions. Dhurjon noted that the GRA had already conceded that Manjoor was a qualifying remigrant and that the GRA was not substantially challenging any of the facts asserted by Manjoor.

(Chief Justice orders release of remigrant’s SUV)

---

• Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, GRA’s actions illegal, Guyana Revenue Authority, preferential tax conditions

---