Commissioner VAT Visits Region 2, hosts workshop: February 8, 2007
Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA’s) Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Tax Department Ms. Hema Khan along with a team of officials visited region 2 yesterday and hosted a workshop on VAT for residents.

The workshop was geared at helping businesses understand the return filing process, but also addressed other issues relating to VAT such as high prices and VAT being charged on Zero-rated items.
Business representatives were given a step by step demonstration on how to fill in the VAT Return form.

Ms. Khan noted that this will encourage compliance by businesses and will help them in meeting the February 21, 2007 date line for the submission of the first VAT Return.
She said that they were also made aware of the penalties for late filing and non-filing of Returns.

VAT Returns can be submitted through the post or can be hand-delivered to the nearest GRA office. Failure to file VAT Returns may result in a penalty of one thousand dollars per a day or part of a day that the return remains outstanding or an amount equal to ten percent of the tax payable for the period to which the return relates, which ever is greater.

Ms. Khan said that instead of mailing a single return form to VAT payers, the department will now send out two forms at a time, so that businesses will have one month’s form in advance.

Questions relating to VAT were also dealt with via a live call-in program on RCA channel 8.
The workshop was held at the Arabian Hotel, Essequibo from 13:00hrs to 17:00hrs. Over sixty persons attended the workshop.