Cognizant of Guyana’s vast and porous borders and the implications of its oil producer status, the nature of Law Enforcement activities by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has evolved to incorporate new strategies and plans to effectively and efficiently achieve their mandate. Towards this end, a Petroleum Unit was established in 2019 within the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) to mitigate the loss of revenue through fuel smuggling and tax evasion through under-invoicing.
Since being established, GRA said the unit is proving to be a success as it has since netted over $600M. :
The tax authority noted that the unit was able to achieve this feat by monitoring the reporting of all incoming and outgoing fuel vessels; monitoring declarations made, inclusive of ship stores, by all importers of fuel to ensure that the information submitted to the Proper Officer is consistent with the requirements of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01 and Standard Operating Procedures; monitoring the submission of all monthly schedules of fuel consumption by the respective beneficiaries of tax exemptions and making appropriate recommendations within the defined time frame of those eligible under the tax credit system. It was also made possible by keeping a close watch on the importation and consumption of fuel by the Guyana Trawlers Association. In so doing, Guyana Standard understands that a schedule is crafted to capture all pertinent information required by the Revenue Authority before being shared with the members of the association.
As part of its functions, the Petroleum unit is expected to conduct reviews and reconciliation of all fuel imports and create and build a database of all pertinent information that would be required for future transactions.
Guyana Standard understands that these officers also conduct coordinated patrols within the ten administrative regions of Guyana as well as spontaneous exercises to witness the offloading of petroleum products at the various bulk stations/ terminals as well as any other related duties assigned by Management.
