News Source Guyana Reports | The High Court has ruled that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) acted unlawfully in reassessing taxes on three luxury vehicles imported by billionaire Azruddin Mohamed over three years ago, blocking the GRA from seizing the vehicles.
In a decision delivered by Justice Gino Persaud, the court found that the imposition of additional taxes amounting to $421 million on Mohamed for the vehicles imported in 2020 and 2021 was arbitrary, ultra vires, unreasonable, unfair, and unlawful. Justice Persaud issued an Order Certiorari to quash the GRA’s additional tax charges.
Mohamed, now an Opposition Member of Parliament, contested the GRA’s authority to seize his Lamborghini sports car and two Land Cruisers, which had already been imported, cleared, and registered. The GRA claimed that Mohamed owed over $400 million in taxes, asserting that the declared costs of the luxury vehicles did not reflect their market value.
For instance, the GRA contended that the Lamborghini’s actual cost was $695,000, significantly higher than the $75,300 declared by Mohamed.
Justice Persaud clarified that there is no provision under the Customs Act or the Fifth Schedule that allows the GRA to reassess duties and taxes after the vehicles had been cleared in 2020 and 2021. He stated, “The Court finds that there is no legislative support for the reassessment of duties and taxes.” The judge pointed out that while the GRA could have utilized certain provisions at the time of import, it had no recourse to do so years later.
The judge also mentioned that while the GRA cannot reassess taxes now, it can pursue criminal charges for false declarations if fraud is uncovered, as outlined in Sections 17 and 18 of the Customs Act.
Attorney Siand Dhurjon, representing Mohamed, welcomed the ruling, noting that the judge relied on multiple local cases to establish that the GRA lacked the authority for post-clearance assessments. He criticized the GRA for unnecessarily prolonging the proceedings with multiple affidavits in response to a single affidavit filed by Mohamed’s legal team, deeming it an abuse of court process.
The GRA has indicated its intention to appeal the court’s decision, and it has been noted that the authority still owes Mohamed $300,000 as per a previous ruling by the Full Court.
