– neighbouring countries to tighten regulations, monitoring
By Nigel Williams
The Guyana Revenue Authority recently seized two Jaguar luxury cars
Guyana and Suriname authorities are to tighten regulations that will hopefully eradicate a massive vehicle- smuggling racket in which cars that have been allowed across the border are later sold to Guyanese, who will evade paying at the least Gy$1 million in duty.
In some instances, Guyanese would themselves purchase the vehicles in the neighbouring country, fit them with false licence plates, and bring them to Guyana via the Canawaima ferry.
Speaking with Guyana Times International on the sidelines of the second meeting of Directors of Customs and Organs of State Security from Central America and the Caribbean, in Panama City, Panama, Head of the Customs and Excise in Suriname, August Van Hamme, said that during a meeting last week in Guyana, Georgetown raised the issue, noting that it was costing the government revenue. Security-wise, he said, Guyanese officials asserted that the racket facilitates criminal activities, as often the cars that come over have no number plates, and bandits would use them to carry out their nefarious trade.
“So we have decided that, on a monthly basis, we will update our records to see how many cars leave our shores and whom they are registered to.”
Van Hamme said this information will be passed on to authorities in Guyana, along with other details of the vehicles, so as to assist them in tracking down a vehicle that might be here longer than has been stipulated. Under the current regulations, the vehicles are allowed one month in the country, but Van Hamme said that since the Canawaima Ferry Stelling, which facilitates this movement of vehicles, was launched, there have been abuses as well as skulduggery.
“We have to put a stop to it… it’s not just a concern for Guyana, it is also a concern for us, because it’s a back door way of our people doing trading…” Guyana Times International was told that, in an effort to avoid the high duty payable on the importation of cars, a number of Guyanese have opted for the Suriname/Guyana car racket.
Recently, the Guyana Revenue Authority seized two Jaguar luxury cars that were smuggled into the country through the same scheme. In this case, officials registered the vehicles as having a smaller engine size than they actually had. Taxes on vehicles are calculated on engine size as well as year of manufacture. There were several other cases in the past in which vehicles that bore Suriname number plates were holed up during criminal activities. Cars registered in Guyana have also been held up in Suriname. Days after the Bartica massacre in 2008, Suriname police arrested three Guyanese men in a car with some 16 kilogrammes of gold. The mineral was believed stolen during the attack on the mining township.
Commissioner General of the GRA, Khurshid Sattaur, who is also attending the meeting, said that an average of 300 cars come across the border on a monthly basis. He said the owners of the vehicles are usually given a certificate allowing them two weeks in the country with the vehicle. However, many of the vehicles end up here longer than stipulated, and in some cases, they never recross the border. He believes that there is collusion among officials and the persons who bring the vehicles into the country.
“Sometimes our records could show that five cars should be out when, in fact, only three actually went out… so we have to collaborate with Suriname, thus ensuring we can keep tab on those vehicles that are supposed to be in and those that are supposed to be out.”
Asked how GRA could monitor the vehicles while they are here, Sattaur said this was difficult, as often people give false addresses where they are staying. And while the racket is massive, more often than not, those vehicles are seized, as they have to be fitted with false number plates, and when it’s time for registration, the culprits would run into problems. He, however, admitted that there were persons who had had their vehicles for several years before the GRA could have detected them. He noted that the GRA was recently taken to court by a businessman whose car was acquired under similar circumstances.
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