GRA to implement scanners and make life easier for taxpayers

The local revenue collection agency is looking to reduce the hassle for taxpayers by placing scanners at the Camp Street, Georgetown office, eradicating the need for persons to present photocopied documents when transacting business.

Deputy Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Hema Khan on Friday told the media that the initiative will start off with TIN certificates and the compliance section.

“Soon we will be scanning your documents, you don’t have to bring in photocopies of your ID and proof of address and so on, we will just collect them, scan them and give them back to you,” she noted.

This project should be up and running by the end of this month.

“For example compliances, when they come in, they bring in their transport, valuation, etc, we will just scan it and give it back to them,” Khan said.

Commissioner-General of the GRA, Godfrey Statia said a data bank will also be created, eliminating the need for persons to present photocopies of their personal information during each visit to the agency.

“What we have done is to ensure that we will have a type of data bank and you will be able to share that type of information based on the level of security that you would have.

“So once you come in one time and we have your TIN number, we will be able to have all of your documents at one spot so you won’t have to go back and come back for them,” he told the media.

Statia bemoaned the pile-up of papers in the GRA’s Camp street headquarters which he said only takes up valuable office space.

Sese Jones, Head of Information Technology at GRA, told the media that the company will be providing more services online. He spoke of the individual income tax where a system will be put in place to allow for the employer to fill in the details and employees will only need to validate what is there.

The entire digitising project is set to run for three years.

The revenue body has been trying to digitise its services in recent years. Among the systems installed is the ASYCUDA World (AW) which is an integrated customs management system that aids with the modernisation of manifests, customs declarations, accounting procedures, transit, suspense procedures, among others.

GRA said it has processed 55,985 declarations through ASYCUDA in 2019.