Ag Chancellor Rules GRA Has Power to Levy Post-Clearance Taxes on Yu

Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Roxane George-Wiltshire, S.C., has ruled that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has the legal authority to impose post-clearance taxes.

On November 17, 2025, Justice George-Wiltshire delivered her ruling in a case brought by businessman Zhangzhen Yu, who challenged the GRA’s reassessment of import duties on merchandise imported between 2016 and 2017. Although duties were initially paid based on the invoices he presented, Yu received a demand letter 18 months later seeking G$15,475,006 in additional taxes on twelve containers already cleared and released.

‘PCAU is Lawful and Empowered’ – Ag. Chancellor

In dismissing Yu’s challenge, Justice George-Wiltshire made clear that the GRA’s Post Clearance Audit Unit (PCAU) functions legitimately under the authority of the agency:

“I do not consider the complaint that the assessment by the PCAU was unlawful has merit. The PCAU is clearly a department within the GRA… there is most certainly no evidence that it is unconstitutional.”

She further affirmed that Section 233 of the Customs Act authorises the GRA to review declarations and request additional documents within a three-year window. Rejecting the argument that short-levy provisions are limited to classification errors, she wrote: “I do not agree. Section 17 is not so restrictively worded.”

The acting Chancellor cautioned that preventing reassessments would effectively shelter fraud: “To accede to the applicant’s contention would mean that an importer could make a false declaration… and once their goods have been entered and cleared the authority would not be able to conduct a further assessment.”

‘Two Judgments at Complete Odds’ – AG Nandlall

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, speaking Tuesday on his programme Issues in the News, used the ruling to revisit Justice Gino Persaud’s decision in the matter involving Azruddin Mohamed.

On November 7, Justice Persaud ruled that the GRA had no power to embark on post-clearance assessments in relation to luxury vehicles imported by Mohamed. However, Mohamed’s case is more nuanced than Yu’s.

Still, the Attorney General expressed the view that the acting Chancellor’s “judgement absolutely contradicts in every material respect the judgement of the Honourable Justice Gino Persaud.” He went further to state that Justice George-Wiltshire found the PCAU entirely valid: “it is not illegal and it is not unconstitutional.”

Appeals Ahead

The GRA has already signaled its intention to appeal Justice Persaud’s ruling, setting the stage for the Court of Appeal—now led by acting Chancellor George-Wiltshire—to eventually determine which interpretation of the Customs Act governs.

For now, businesses, customs officials, and legal analysts remain in limbo as two senior judges deliver diametrically opposed readings of the law governing tax reassessment.