Remigrant duty-free vehicle probe touches Attorney-General
OCTOBER 13, 2014 · BY STAFF WRITER
The ongoing probe into the remigrant scheme and any possible abuse of the duty-free concessions from 2010 to 2014 has also focused on members of the government.
Attorney-General Anil Nandlall told Stabroek News that when the investigation by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) began, officers had visited his home to check on his vehicles. He said that GRA officers had visited over a year ago and he made it clear that if they were to find any wrongdoing in the transaction, they would have to take the appropriate action.
Documentation was recently brought to the attention of the Stabroek News whereby a family member of the Attorney-General had utilized Nandlall’s Prashad Nagar, Georgetown address when filling out the concession registration for a Mercedes luxury SUV.
Kamal Mangal is listed as the primary owner of the vehicle, Plate PPP 9090, and also listed Lot 55 Chandra Nagar Street, Prashad Nagar as his primary address, which is the property of Nandlall.
The Attorney-General told Stabroek News yesterday that his relative, at the time of the registration, would have stayed at his place. He said that Mangal lived in Guyana but also spent time abroad. “I have never driven, I have never see this vehicle, it is not parked at my home,” he stressed.
The Attorney-General stated that Mangal had properties on Delhi Street, Prashad Nagar where the vehicle was permanently parked while Mangal was out of the country. He said that Mangal owned two sets of apartments along the street and that was where he resided while in Guyana. When Stabroek News visited the location yesterday, the Mercedes was parked inside a gated yard.
Nandlall said that he was unsure of why his home address was listed on the paperwork, but that he saw no issue with it as Mangal did stay with him in 2012 when the transaction occurred. “I have my own vehicles that I acquired lawfully. I don’t need any more,” he said.
The Attorney-General currently has two luxury SUVs and a car registered in his name in addition to the vehicles provided by the state. He said that it was unfortunate that his name is now being dragged into the Auditor-General’s investigation for no particular reason. Nandlall noted that one of the vehicles was brought in duty-free, but he paid his taxes for the others.
Stabroek News reported yesterday that the flood of luxury vehicles on the roads prompted a government decision to probe the period 2010 to 2014 to see whether there was an abuse of duty-free concessions to remigrants. This newspaper had requested information on the number of persons being investigated. However, Auditor-General Deodat Sharma indicated that he could not disclose information since the investigation is an active one.
Sharma said the period under investigation spans from 2010 to 2014 and that the year 2013 is currently being looked at.
Meanwhile, a source told Stabroek News that the scam is huge and involves more than the four persons who will appear in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court today on tax evasion charges. “People are making it seem that it is just the four of them but it’s a lot more people. They are just a small piece of the pie,” the source stressed.
Glenn Lall and his wife Bhena along with remigrant Narootandeo Brijnanan and his wife Gharbassi are accused of being involved in the racket which saw millions of dollars in duties on two luxury vehicles not being paid. The Lalls of Lindley Avenue, Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara are jointly accused of two counts of having knowingly dealt with goods, with intent to defraud the revenue of duties, while they along Brijnanans face two counts of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of import duties of Customs.
Lall has since said that there is no evidence to support the allegations and more so that he was being deliberately targeted in an attempt to muzzle him and his newspaper’s efforts to highlight issues affecting the Guyanese public.
The remigrant couple moved to the courts after their vehicles were seized and acting Chief Justice Ian Chang had directed the GRA to show cause why its decision to seize the two vehicles should not be quashed on the grounds that it was unlawful. (SN)