INVESTIGATIONS into the remigrant duty free concessions vehicle scam have not reached the stage where charges could be made against officers of either the Ministries of Foreign Affairs or Finance, remigrants or other persons involved in the scheme.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon at his weekly press briefing last Friday indicated that the probe is ongoing with different agencies focusing on varying aspects of the investigations.
The police force, he said, is focusing on identifying the basis for irregular provisions of duty free concessions such as bribery and forgery, while the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is paying attention to instances where concessions were unlawfully granted.
However, the HPS noted that the remigration scheme is now a feature of Statutes and is in force, whereby the terms and conditions for granting duty free concessions are clearly spelt out.
The Commissioner General of the GRA handed over a report of the investigation ordered by President Bharrat Jagdeo into irregularities discovered in the administration of the granting of duty free concessions to remigrants under the vehicles scheme.
The report dealt with duty free concessions granted to 86 re-migrants in August last year, 31 of which satisfied the qualifying criteria, consequently, the President ordered that 55 of the vehicles be seized.
The GRA's report has also identified a series of deliberate acts by public officers who violated the required criteria in the process, as well as negligence by other public officers who authorised the granting of duty free concessions.
A number of public officers, including the Secretary to the Treasury, have been sent on leave pending investigations into the scam.
Prior to the Fiscal Amendment Act of 2003, duty-free concessions to re-migrants were granted by the Ministry of Finance in accordance with Section 12 of the Customs Act Chapter 82:01 and Section 18 of the Consumption Tax Act, Chapter 80:02.
However, under the new Act, which came into being from September 1 last, the GRA is now tasked with the responsibility of granting these letters.
The Ministry of Finance is now responsible for issuing an advisory letter to the GRA stating that the person requesting duty-free concession is qualified. In addition, the Ministry issues six original advisory letters, signed by the Secretary to the Treasury, one each of which is sent to the Commissioner General of the GRA, the Auditor General, Licence Revenue Department. One is retained for record-keeping purposes. (Chamanlall Naipaul)