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‘Warehouse’ owner caught in massive vehicle scheme
…GRA dismissed discrepancies flagged by AG on importation of over 374 vehicles
(Kaieteur News) – Over the years, examinations of accounts and records by the audit office has made damning revelations, many of which have been swept under the rug, rather than being investigated.
A major finding of the Auditor General (AG) as highlighted in the 2024 Report, involves the importation of over 300 vehicles which suspiciously featured the same invoice numbers. The discovery, made by the Audit Office could potentially involve billions, yet the matter was not investigated but quietly resolved as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) intervened and concluded that there was no risk to the authenticity of the documents.
Commissioner General of the GRA, Godfrey Statia.
The 2024 AG report states that during the review period, 41 private warehouses were in operation. The Audit Office discovered upon examination of the entries in the warehouse register that one warehouse owner was using the same invoice numbers on various entries for the importation of 374 vehicles.
A further examination of the company revealed that this issue was ongoing prior to 2024. The report states, “In 2023, the same invoice numbers were repeatedly recorded against various entries for the importation of 199 vehicles.”
Consequently, the AG made a request to the GRA on January 27, 2024 for third-party confirmation from the vehicle suppliers for the total warehouse stock of 199 vehicles.
“At time of reporting, no confirmations were received by the Audit Office,” the report explained.
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner General of the GRA, Godfrey Statia in response to the AG’s finding noted that following the observation by the Audit Office, a letter was dispatched to the warehouse owner on September 4, 2024 to provide an explanation for the repetitive use of invoice numbers for various transactions.
According to the report, “The warehouse owner responded indicating that they are unaware of such issue and requested samples of the invoices to engage their suppliers for clarity to update the Guyana Revenue Authority.”
On October 10, 2024 GRA received a response from the warehouse owner which explained “the Supplier’s numbering format corresponds specifically to the quantity of containers listed on the associated bill of lading, and each invoice includes a unique stock number for every vehicle located in the first column. Accordingly, it is standard practice for their Suppliers across all countries to which they ship goods, and it does not pose a risk to the authenticity of the documents.”
To this end, the GRA informed the AG that no further action was taken by the Authority, given that the prices for the specific vehicles fell within the accepted range of values for similar categories. Further, these correspondences were provided to the Auditors for their update.
Nonetheless, the Audit Office urged the GRA to put measures in place to continually monitor all warehouse activities to provide assurance of the completeness, accuracy and validity of all transactions.
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And, we all thought the Mohameds were the only ones involved in
the ‘SAME INVOICE/CARTONS” scheme ?
GRA, better wake up and smell the coffee, or see an ENT doctor for
loss of smell.
Some illness, like fraud, people loose their sense of smell, just like, their other
senses. ?