GRA’s service improvement allows for free flow of trade – GCHBCA

The Guyana Customs House Brokers and Clerks Association (GCHBCA) has lauded the Customs, Excise and Trade operations of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), for continuous improvement in its service to importers and exporters.

President of the Association, Colin Moore shared in a statement that as Guyana develops, importation and exportation will increase. GCHBCA has positively received the systems implemented by GRA to allow a smoother flow of trade while protecting revenue.
“Since the implementation of the ASYCUDA World system which brought many positive results, thereby allowing consignees/brokers live access for the processing and clearance of their cargo, this has resulted in shorter processing and clearance times. GCHBCA has observed this reduces many manual procedures which were deemed as tedious on the business community,” the association pointed out.
With renewed emphasis by the leadership of GRA on trade facilitation and improvement of systems, importers and exporters were encouraged to adhere to the customs laws and regulations; and recruit licensed customs house brokers to facilitate the processing and clearance of their consignments. The GRA provides a list of licensed brokers on its webpage.
“Licensed Brokers have the knowledge and experience to advise on the correct procedures, advise on tax or trade policies, tariff rates, classification, and avoid possible sanctions for breaches of the Customs laws. We can guide local importers and foreign investors to benefit from established Government policies from which they can benefit while ensuring compliance with the laws. We are aware of companies claiming to provide Customs brokerage services without “Licensed Brokers” in their permanent employ. This constitutes a breach of the Customs Act as it relates to persons, partnerships and companies conducting these activities for gainful services.”
Some of the measures implemented by the Customs, Excise and Trade Operations of Guyana Revenue Authority to facilitate trade and investment include robust risk profiling systems which have led to the reduction in discretionary powers conferred upon officers to determine actions in relation to shipments, resulting in a fair and consistent approach to declarations being flagged.
There is also a 48-hour maximum processing time now for imports, which in some cases is less than 24 hours. Additionally, many consignments are now released quickly with post-clearance checks being conducted on declarations that warrant extra checks.
Guyana’s economic trajectory has led to larger imports resulting in GRA putting systems in place to deal with issues on Post-Clearance Audits instead of delaying shipments for verification of classification and values. Declarations can be submitted on a 24/7 basis by licensed brokers and authorised users.
Added to the new measures, ASYCUDA has online access to data that accurately gives information on the status of declarations. This information can be accessed by authorised users only, which protects clients’ confidential information.
There is a 24-hour prepayment system that allows for payment of taxes online and in advance as well, while there are round-the-clock GRA offices to make payments.
“Customs management has supplemented ASYCUDA by the implementation of various systems, including removal of overlapping functions, and ensuring a fair and consistent approach which reduces the incidence of perceived harassment by officers,” the association opined.
Now, red tape even for the smaller imports has been removed for low-risk, Government Agencies, Diplomats, and even personal shipments whereby shipments are scanned upon destuffing on containers to detect illicit goods. This allows for faster clearance while protecting citizens of this country from all forms of illegal activities intended to be imported and exported from Guyana.
Training has increased for both Officers and brokers to improve and build capacity, which reflects in the general approval rating of officers and brokers in the public domain.