Improved ease of doing business in Guyana – Single Window System Bill passed

─ Customs and Trade Single Window System Bill allows for a single submission of documents electronically for fees, levies, duties, and taxes due to govt on goods which are imported or exported

 

DPI Guyana, Wednesday, May 15, 2019

 

Persons involved in trade and transport can expect an improved ‘ease of doing business’ in Guyana with the passage of the Customs and Trade Single Window System Bill 2019 the National Assembly today.

The Bill allows for a single submission of documents electronically for fees, levies, duties, and taxes due to the government on goods which are imported or exported.

According to Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, who presented the Bill at the 114th sitting in the National Assembly, this new legislation will allow for a more improved way of doing business in Guyana. He pointed out that the Act will allow parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and document with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements.

There are currently 20 ministries and departments that deal with import and export in Guyana. Majority of these agencies are paper-driven. This system is costly and time-consuming.

“International trade requires [the provision of information] and documents through customs and other regulatory agencies in compliance with laws and regulations… In Guyana, information is submitted and processed numerous times through Customs and other entities, be it on paper, automated or both.”

Minister Jordan pointed out that while there was an attempt to implement this system under the former administration, no progress was made up to 2015. Recognising the importance of such legislation to ease the burden of doing business in Guyana, he said that the government, when it took office, resuscitated the project.

To date, the government was able to secure a loan of $1.2Billion (US$6M) to aid the implementation of the Single-Window System. Guyana has since met all the preconditions and the loan is being disbursed.

The project will be implemented in phases. Phase One deals with modernising the regulatory environment. The Cabinet also approved the establishment of a steering committee comprising the main border regulatory agencies. The committee is chaired by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Business.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will be responsible for the management of the system and will define the expected roles, responsibilities and obligations of all agencies that will be involved in providing legal and technical assistance with its creation and operation.

The agency will have to adopt relevant internationally accepted standards, procedures, documents, technical details and formalities for the effective implementation of the single-window system.

Processes and technical aspects of the system will conform to the principles of transparency in relations to procedures being undertaken through the system; security of trade date information exchange, simplicity and accessibility, confidentiality and privacy, reality, trust and consistency and efficiency.

 

Synieka Thorne

Image: Marceano Narine