GRA must explain initial low tax assessment for vehicles imported by Mohameds –AG Nandlall
Apr 10, 2025
Kaieteur News- Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall says the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will have to explain how it initially assessed the import taxes paid by Azruddin Mohamed on several luxury vehicles that the authority is now going after to seize over unpaid taxes.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall
Speaking on his weekly programme, ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday night, Nandlall said that while the agency will have to provide an explanation on its previous assessment, he clarified that GRA has long held the legal authority to conduct post-audit reviews of import duty assessments.
Notably, GRA is going after the vehicles over breaches of re-migrant and duty-free agreements, claiming Mohamed owes over $1.2 billion in taxes. Details revealed by GRA are as follows:
- One 2020 Ferrari PAD 5000 in the name of Hana Mohamed, with additional taxes of $479,743, 489 for breach of the re-migrant requirements,
- One 2023 Land Rover Range Rover PAC 9000 in the name of Leslie Khan, with additional taxes of $61,485,982 for breach of the re-migrant requirements,
- One 2023 Rolls Royce PAE 5000 in the name of Bibi Mohamed, with additional taxes of $320,064,246 for breach of the re-migrant requirements,
- One 2020 Lamborghini Roadster PZZ 4000 titled to Azruddin Mohamed, with additional taxes of $371,775,168 for false declaration of value.
- One 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 4000 titled to Azruddin Mohamed, with additional taxes of $24,641,272 for false declaration of value.
- One 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 3000 titled to Azruddin Mohamed, with additional taxes of $24,641,272 for false declaration of value.
For his part, Nandlall stated that GRA will have to explain who did the initial assessment and why it was done in the way that it was done, resulting in millions in unpaid taxes. However, he explained, “The GRA always has and always had a power to review the assessment of duties and taxes. It is called a post-audit power. It is in the law, and any businessman who has had any relationship with the Guyana Revenue Authority would know of that power.”
He outlined that such reviews are standard practice, particularly in cases involving duty-free concessions such as the re-migrant scheme or other government-facilitated tax relief programs. “The GRA going after vehicles that were brought into the country on different concessions is also not a new phenomenon,” he said.
US sanctioned Guyanese businessman Azruddin Mohamed
His comments come amid claims by Mohameds that the recent efforts to seize his luxury vehicles over $1.2 billion in unpaid taxes are politically motivated. Mohamed had alleged that both Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Nandlall warned him to abandon any political ambitions or face repercussions, including the seizure of his vehicles.
But the Attorney General has refuted those allegations, stating, “I have never spoken to Mr. Azruddin Mohamed in the presence of Mr. Jagdeo…since the sanction was imposed, I have never spoken to Mr. Mohamed in person or on the phone by himself.”
Azruddin and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, and their businesses were sanctioned in June 2024 by the U.S Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over allegations of corruption, tax evasion, and gold smuggling. The sanctions were also imposed on former Ministry of Labour Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas, who is accused of granting State contracts and benefits to the Mohameds.
Nandlall stated that any meetings he had with the Mohamed family after the sanctions were imposed were official in nature, conducted in the presence of their legal counsel and aimed at ensuring their disengagement from State-related business. “They were accorded all the due processes to which they are entitled. They were treated lawfully and all the protective safeguards guaranteed to them by law were extended to them,” he said.
Last Saturday, the GRA and the Guyana Police Force attempted to seize the vehicles, but were met with resistance from Team Mohamed supporters who blocked the operation. A temporary injunction from the High Court has since barred the agency from seizing the vehicles pending a final ruling.
Mohamed has maintained that the vehicles were legally imported and approved through the proper GRA channels years ago, questioning the timing of the renewed interest in the matter. “We’re not giving up the vehicles because the vehicles were approved… so why seize them now, four years after?” he previously said.
Related
Similar Articles
