Dear Editor,
The recent, politically motivated tirade from President Irfaan Ali against the sound ruling of Justice Gino Persaud in the case of GRA vs Mr. Mohamed on the issue of the importation of a “Lambor-ghini” car, is not just an embarrassment to his office, but a naked assault on the independence of Guyanese Judiciary. It is a clear case of the Executive trying to bully the Judiciary, which can be classified as a constitutional abuse. His willful mischaracterization of the “Azruddin Mohamed case” exposes either a profound ignorance of the Customs Act on his part, which he is sworn to uphold, or a cynical willingness to weaponize and dismantle the rule of law for personal and political revenge.
Let us be blunt about the facts that the President so conveniently ignores.
First, Justice Persaud’s ruling was not “flawed”; it was a seminal act in applying the law as it is written, not as the Execu-tive wishes it to be. The Customs Act establishes a clear, sequential process. The GRA had a full toolkit at its disposal under Section 22 & the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act to challenge and determine the declared value of the Lamborghini at the time of importation. The methods are clear: if the transaction value was suspect, the GRA had the power at that time to use the value of identical goods, similar goods, deductive value, or computed value and arrive at an assessed value before the release of the car, not wait five years after and use political motives to re-open a case that you closed five years ago. Guyana is not a country of kangaroos and monkeys that jump from one limb to the next based on the temperature.
Did the GRA, in its initial assessment, receive a directive from an Executive telephone line to expedite the clearance and I am referencing these celebrity text messages to a certain Presidential Number? It is the only logical explanation for why a competent authority like the GRA, would willingly accept documentation, clear the vehicle, release it, and then—only after the importer became a political rival—suddenly discover a half-billion-dollar error. This is not tax collection; it is a shakedown that is akin to ‘gangsterism’. It is total foolishness, driven by a heavy dose of malice and spite from the Office of the President. I truly wonder why President Ali will want to contaminate his office with these most reckless of statements on this matter. Is he so desperate to cover up the doing of PPP officials in this matter, that he is willing to burn valuable political capital that he now cannot recover?
The law is not an ass to be ridden in whatever direction the Executive whips it. Section 20 and 83 of the Customs Act establishes the point of finality: once full particulars are provided by the importer, GRA accepts the valuation, duties are paid and goods are released, the transaction is closed. The GRA’s catastrophic failure at the point of entry cannot be retroactively fixed by illegal, ultra vires demands years later. You cannot apply the Customs Act emotionally. President Ali’s personal cruelty against Mr. Mohamed is not a legal basis for taxation.
Secondly, the President’s desperate attempt to hide behind Justice George’s ruling exposed his deep ignorance of the matter. Justice George’s case and ruling is on a different case with different conditions. But what His Excellency is doing is deliberately mixing up his oranges and apples in a pathetic attempt to confuse the public. Is the President truly so incapable of legal distinction that he cannot tell the difference between perishable goods and a Lamborghini? A luxury car does not spoil; it could have very well stayed on the wharf for six months while GRA complete a more comprehensive assessment. But their decision to release it with haste is their own gross administrative failure. They, and the President who now champions their incompetence, must bear the blame, not the citizen who followed the process as it was presented to him. Mr. Mohamed also have rights too.
Most damningly, President Ali’s public bullying of Justice Persaud—labeling his reasoned judgment a “danger to the tax system”— appears apparently as the act of a tin-pot authoritarian like Pol Pot from Cambodia or Maduro from Venezuela; not a constitutional President who just won an elections fair and square. Why is the President behaving so irresponsibly? This blatant attempt to intimidate the judiciary and poison the well for the upcoming appeal will have consequences. Is this the PPP’s standard operating procedure? To slash and burn without any concern or the consequences? To publicly vilify any judge who dares to rule against the government is a danger to the rule of law and without the rule of law, we will be a nation of wild animals. Will President Ali next threaten the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) if it too fails to bend to his will? Well, let him try and he will see what the CCJ is all about, since historically all they did was interpret the rule of law and nothing else.
In this sordid affair, there is only one hero: Justice Gino Persaud. His ruling was a necessary and brave check on an out-of-control executive agency. He affirmed the fundamental legal principles of certainty and finality that this government seems hell-bent on destroying. President Ali is not just wrong; he is acting dangerously in a manner that is a danger to our democracy. It is time that the political leader of the PPP, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo call him in for political fitness. President Ali’s comments demonstrate an utter contempt for constitutional safeguards and the separation of powers. The GRA has a right to appeal, but until then, the President and his compliant revenue authority should do the nation a service: just shut up, and stop exposing their vindictive ignorance of the law that they are supposed to serve.