Executives of the Guyana Manufacturing and Service Association (GMSA) recently met with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) with the aim of reviewing tax measures. Through an official release, the body highlighted that it engaged GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia on the impact several Value Added Tax (VAT) measures have on the manufacturing sector.
The GMSA was led by its President, Shyam Nokta and including board member Ramesh Dookhoo and chair of the Forestry and Wood Processing Sub-Sector Rafeek Khan. They met with the GRA team on August 16, 2018.
This meeting followed the GMSA already registering several concerns to Finance Minister Winston Jordan in June this year regarding the impact of the amendment to the VAT Act in January on some sections of the manufacturing sector with
GMSA President, Shyam Nokta
special focus on exports.
According to the GMSA, the amendment contradicted what Minister Jordan said in his budget speech. The GMSA held that the forestry and wood processing sector are affected by VAT which it says serves as a dis-incentive to producers who primarily manufacture for export.
“It comes at a time when the forestry and wood processing sector is facing several challenges, including the deplorable state of interior roads and when there is strong push for more value adding to target external markets,” the manufacturing body noted.
According to the release, the Commissioner General indicated that in keeping with the Minister’s pledge of no new taxes, the Amendment was intended to improve administrative efficiency of VAT administration that GRA is exploring ways to address the issue and requested that the GMSA explore other avenues with as opposed to “making broad statements”.
The GMSA however, said that VAT is adversely impacting key economic sectors. It said too that it took the opportunity to raise other issues pertaining to tax administration, including the implementation of the new scanner system and processing times.
The body said that it put forward a request for incentives for manufacturers in
GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia
relation to energy and renewable energy technologies, in addition to a list of procedural issues relative to facilitating the smooth flow of businesses.
The body also addressed the excise duty on Indigenous wines in keeping with the Government-stated policy of incentivising local manufacturing in addition to the excise taxes on Shandy whereby the current structure is not in line with other Caribbean territories which “disadvantaged Guyana’s producers”. The GMSA said it remains hopeful that the GRA will give active consideration to the issues raised and make recommendations to the Finance Minister on the way forward.
