– revenue collection down, anti-smuggling measures implemented
With a significant decline in revenue collection at Corriverton, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) said it has beefed up anti-smuggling measures in the area to trap Guyanese who trade in Suriname but evade taxes.
Rampant smuggling of goods and drugs from Suriname to Guyana has been a long-standing problem. Some businesses in Berbice have also complained about not being able to compete with other businesses that engage in smuggling.
The GRA in a statement said over the past year, it has collaborated with senior officials of the Surinamese Customs and Excise Department in implementing various initiatives to curtail smuggling activities. These initiatives have resulted in significant revenue collection.
However, last month, there was a reduction in revenue collection at Corriverton, the GRA said. This was attributed to the resurgence in smuggling activities in Berbice. “Investigations conducted revealed that boat operators were submitting forged Customs clearances to Suriname Customs officials in Nickerie,” the entity said.
The submission of the clearances issued by Customs officials at Corriverton is one of the requirements for boat owners to load goods in Nickerie. Boat owners who load goods with forged Customs clearances, undetected by Suriname Customs officials, do not report to Customs at Corriverton with the goods to pay the applicable duties and taxes.
The GRA explained that Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur implemented new procedures for the profiling of imports which necessitates more stringent perusal of import declarations and supporting documents. According to the GRA, a dedicated team comprising Customs staff and a Berbice Anti-Smuggling Squad (BASS) officer was tasked with reviewing valuation of imports and classification of goods.
In addition, law enforcement officers from Georgetown were deployed to conduct patrols to prevent smuggling activities. “These initiatives have resulted in greater scrutiny of import declarations and adjustment in values declared,” the entity noted.
Notwithstanding the measures taken, the GRA said the Integrated Regional Tax Offices head, Jameel Baksh attended a meeting in Nickerie, with senior officials of the Surinamese Customs and Excise Department on May 25. At that meeting, previous decisions made in July 2011 were reviewed, and new procedures to curtail smuggling activities between the towns of Nickerie, in Suriname, and Corriverton, in Guyana, were initiated.
Relevant
duties and taxes
The new procedure agreed upon by the two parties necessitates that boat owners report to Customs at Corriverton and Nickerie, with valid Customs clearance. Currently, Customs officials from both countries exchange information daily. Consequently, more boat owners are now reporting to Line Path, Corriverton and paying the relevant duties and taxes.
Only recently, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) shadow foreign minister, Deborah Backer said government must, as a matter of high priority, deal decisively with the backtrack operations between Guyana and Suriname. She said that the challenge would be great, but “do it we must, because by turning a Nelson’s eye towards these operations is to erase a part of our eastern border”.
The backtrack crossing at Corriverton has been a source of much distress to security officials there, but government two years ago refused Suriname’s invitation to regularise the route.
Backer had told the National Assembly during the budget debate that safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity remains central to the APNU’s foreign policy. She said government and the opposition need to focus on improving the image and the substance of Guyana’s foreign policy.
Backer cited the claims made by the governments of Suriname and Venezuela to Guyana’s territory, as one reason the country should place more emphasis on safeguarding its borders. She said as a result of the porous borders and the weaknesses in internal security, the unhindered and unregulated flow of illegal drugs, goods, weapons, undeclared gold, and most importantly, illegal migrants is rampant.
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