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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday January 6, 2017
Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Bill passed ––with some reservations from Opposition
Svetlana Marshall T H E M o t o r Ve h i cles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill will enhance tax administration at the level of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and simultaneously reduce the burden faced by Guyanese, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said in defence of the bill in the lead-up to its passage. The bill was passed in the National Assembly on Thursday, however, without the support of the Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). As he opened the debates during the first sitting for 2017 under the watch of the Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland, the Finance Minister explained that the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill of 2016 seeks to amend Section 9 (1) B of the principal Act by
abolishing the requirement for the Certificate of Compliance from the Commissioner-General of the GRA for the pro-
Finance Minister Winston Jordan cessing of a transfer of registration of a motor vehicle. He noted that the requirement for a Certificate of Compliance was introduced by Act 14 of
1982. “Basically, the certificate states that the registered owner has in accordance with Section 60 of the Income Tax Act, Chapter 8101, deliberate all of his returns and paid all outstanding taxes or has made arrangements for the satisfaction of the commissioner-general for the payment of taxes due and payable,” Minister Jordan explained. However, overs the years, persons have been capitalising on other avenues to avoid the need for clearance from the commissioner-general. Some persons, the Finance Minister pointed out, transfer their motor vehicles by way of irrevocable powers of attorney while others turn to the courts. “Thus, the abolishment of this requirement of Certificate of Compliance from the Commissioner-General of the Revenue Authority will remove these loop holes,
while at the same time reducing the burden on taxpayers by removing the duplication of documents,” Minister Jordan
PPP MP Nigel Dharamlall assured. This will no doubt further reduce the processing time, he added, while noting that staff at the Revenue Authority will now be able to re-
direct their attention to more revenue-generating and high-risk activities. Additionally, the bill seeks to amend the first schedule of the principal Act by increasing the fees for the transfer of ownership/possession of motor vehicles, in addition to the introduction of fees for the issuance of driving permits issued to drivers residing abroad, but visiting Guyana temporarily. That fee is set at $2000. Drivers will also be mandated to pay a fee of $2000 in order to acquire a letter of authenticity for verification of drivers’ licences. The bill also seeks to impose transfer fees for motor cycles at a cost of $5000. For other motor vehicles, the fee will be $25, 000 or two per cent of the selling price or current valuation, whichever is greater. The Finance Minister noted that on an annual basis, the Revenue Authority processes approximately 4, 000 of these transactions at no cost to the recipient, although it is not free. Now, with the bill being passed, the cost will be shared between the Government and the beneficiaries. For the Finance Minister, the bill presents a “win-win” situation. “It will improve tax administration by reducing a number of loopholes in the system, thereby of course reducing efforts of corrupting the employees of the Guyana Revenue Authority. It will decrease the burden placed on taxpayers to submit documents, duplicate doc-
uments, and regardless of your tax status now, you will be able to transfer your vehicle freely without having to worry what you owe the tax commissioner,” Minister Jordan noted. But although the Finance Minister secured the support of his colleagues on his side of the House, PPP Member of Parliament Nigel Dharamlall did not buy into his argument. According to Dharamlall, the imposition of more fees creates greater hardship for Guyanese. He pointed out that the fee for the transfer of a registration for a motorcycle has jumped from $500 to $5,000, while the fee for the transfer of registration for other motor vehicles has moved from $1,000 to $25, 000. “This Government is alienating itself from the poor, the disadvantaged and the vulnerable,” he opined, noting that it is an unfortunate situation. Dharamlall was supported by his colleague Adrian Anamayah, who argued that while it is good to remove “the red tapes”, imposition of the fees will cause greater hardship. According to him, Guyanese would prefer to apply for the Certificate of Compliance than pay additional fees. But these arguments were rubbished by the Finance Minister. He said the arguments were flawed, maintaining that the bill will be beneficial to those who would have experienced the very tedious procedure of attempting to transfer ownership of a motor vehicle.