The High Court hearing in the high-profile judicial review (JR) case involving businessman Azruddin Mohamed and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was deferred on Friday after Mohamed’s attorney, Siand Dhurjon, informed the court that he was unavailable to attend as he was engaged at the Magistrates’ Court with his client, who is currently under arrest.
According to information from the Judge’s Registrar, the matter was therefore not heard as scheduled and will be rescheduled for a later date.
The GRA recently filed a Notice of Application (NoA) seeking to stay the judicial review proceedings relating to the importation of a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster SVJ, pending the outcome of criminal charges filed against Mohamed. The Authority is also requesting that the interlocutory injunction—which presently restrains it from seizing the luxury vehicle—be discharged.
The tax authority, represented by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, Senior Counsel Robin Stoby, and a team of local attorneys, argued that proceeding with the JR case while criminal charges are active could risk conflicting findings in the two courts. The GRA contends that the criminal charges and the JR proceedings are based on the same set of facts, including allegations that Mohamed falsely declared the vehicle’s purchase price and evaded over $383 million in taxes.
In response, Mohamed, through his attorneys Dhurjon and Damian Da Silva, argued that the JR proceedings are nearly concluded, with evidence presented and written submissions filed. He maintained that staying the case at this stage would unfairly prejudice his right to have the alleged unlawful conduct of the GRA reviewed by the court.
The judicial review stems from Mohamed’s challenge to the GRA’s decision to reassess the value of the imported Lamborghini following information obtained from U.S. authorities under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. That reassessment found that the actual purchase price was US$695,000, rather than the US$75,300 declared at importation.
Mohamed is currently facing multiple criminal charges under the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01, for allegedly making false declarations to the GRA and fraudulently undervaluing several luxury vehicles. The total taxes allegedly evaded amount to approximately $1.2 billion.
Earlier this year, the Full Court of Demerara upheld an injunction granted by Justice Gino Persaud, which prevents the GRA from seizing Mohamed’s vehicles pending the outcome of the JR case. The GRA has since appealed that decision.
Justice Persaud is expected to deliver rulings on both the judicial review and the GRA’s Notice of Application once proceedings resume.
