Fraudulent actions can lead up to 6 months’ imprisonment – GRA warns

Amid continuous instances of fraudulent actions, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has once again warned members of the public against the falsification of documents or attempts at colluding with anyone, including its officers, to defraud the entity in the course of completing a transaction.
The Authority has reminded that persons guilty of such unlawful actions are liable on summary conviction to fines and up to six months’ imprisonment, depending on the nature and severity of the offence.
The Authority also indicated that employees are not authorised to collect monies from taxpayers for any transaction or offer to complete transactions in exchange for gifts.
With respect to obtaining provisional driver’s licences, GRA reiterated that applicants must first receive the original pass letter from the Traffic Certifying Officer of the Guyana Police Force. Any other source or means used to acquire this document is fraudulent.
Further, taxpayers must make all payments at the cashier sections and obtain an official GRA receipt as proof of payment. Cashiers are located at GRA’s headquarters, all Integrated Regional Tax Offices (IRTOs), and the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) building.
Moreover, GRA has repeatedly published alternative payment options available through online banking services at Republic Bank, Demerara Bank, Bank of Baroda and GBTI; Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) and Bill Express.
Persons who suspect that they are the victims of fraud should request the name and employee ID of the person representing the Authority and report the matter (anonymously) to GRA’s Special Investigation Unit’s (SIU) hotline 225-5051 or via email to [email protected].
Only last week, an employee of the GRA was arrested for selling fake documentation to a labourer of Bush Lot, Essequibo Coast, Region Two.
It was reported in a section of the media that the 28-year-old employee, who worked at the Authority’s Administrative Department, sold a bogus driver’s examination pass paper – a document needed to apply for a driver’s licence at GRA – to the labourer.
However, when the labourer arrived at GRA’s headquarters on Camp Street on December 20, 2022, to apply for the licence and submitted the fake document, an alarm was raised by GRA employees on duty.
The man was then detained for questioning. During that process, he told investigators that he had purchased the document from a GRA staff for $100,000, believing that it was a genuine one.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Eve Leary were informed and the GRA employee was arrested last Wednesday.
The staff later admitted to selling the document to the Essequibo resident but only for $50,000.