Last Updated on Saturday, 15 November 2025, 12:10 by Writer
High Court Judge, Gino Persaud on Friday ruled that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) could not legally assess imports after they were cleared and taxes paid, which meant that that tax agency could not now claim additional taxes totalling GY$421,057,712 in the civil court on the Lamborghini, as well and other vehicles, that businessman Azruddin Mohamed imported in 2020.
“He ruled that once a good was entered, cleared and the taxes paid thereon, the GRA had no legislative support or power to re-assess new taxes under the Customs Act or the Fifth Schedule made under that Act,” according to the businessman turned lawyer, Siand Dhurjon in a statement.
In granting the fixed date application lawsuit filed by Azruddin Mohamed on 2nd April, 2025, Justice Persaud relied on a number of local cases which were cited by counsel for Mr Mohamed and ruled that the GRA had no power to embark on post-clearance assessments.
The lawyer said Justice Persaud also ruled that in any event the GRA could not have any right or remedy to further taxes until or unless Mr Mohamed was found guilty of corresponding offences by a criminal court under the criminal provisions of the Customs Act.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers on Thursday withdrew the GRA’s criminal charges of false declaration and tax evasion on the Lamborghini due to the United States’ (U.S.) request for him to be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
The judge, according to the lawyer, then proceeded to grant all of the orders that were sought by Mr Dhurjon and his colleague lawyer, Damien DaSilva on behalf of Mr Mohamed. The judge ordered that a declaration that the respondents’ impositions of taxes on the Applicant in the sums of GY$371,775,168, GY$24,641,272 and $24,641,272 in respect of the Applicant’s one 2020 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster PZZ 4000, one 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 3000 and one 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 4000 and respectively altogether amounting to GY$421,057,712 are arbitrary, ultra vires the Customs Act, Cap.82:01, unreasonable, unfair and unlawful.
He also granted an order of certiorari to quash the GRA’s impositions of taxes on Mr Mohamed in the sums of GY$24,641,272, GY$24,641,272 and GY$371,775,168 in respect of the three vehicles respectively altogether amounting to GY$421,057,712
Justice Persaud also granted an order of certiorari to quash the GRA’s requirement for Mr Mohamed to present or surrender the aforesaid three vehicles to the Law Enforcement and Investigative Division of the Revenue Authority.
The court said it varied the interlocutory injunction previously granted restraining the GRA, their agents and their servants from seizing the Applicant’s 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 3000, 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser PAB 4000 and 2020 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster PZZ 4000.
The judge further ordered the GRA to pay costs of $750,000 to Mr. Azruddin Mohamed on or before 31st December, 2025.
Mr Dhurjon noted that the GRA still owes Mr. Mohamed $300,000 as ordered by the full court.
The judge reportedly dealt at length with the several attempts by the GRA to delay the ruling and dismissed two recent applications by the GRA to file several additional documents.
The judge ruled that ‘the application filed on 5th November, 2025’ was ‘an abuse of the court’s process’. In that application the GRA sought to tell the Court that the extradition request of Azruddin Mohamed was ‘directly relevant to the substantive judicial review proceedings’.
The judge disagreed and ruled that the request was irrelevant as the judicial review proceedings filed by Mohamed was focused solely on whether or not the imposition of taxes of GY$421,057,712 and the demand for the surrender of the vehicles were lawful.
Justice Persaud was, according to the lawyer, also critical of the continuous filing of applications of the GRA when ruling was set to be delivered in the matter since October.
Justice Persaud also threw out an application filed on 10th June, 2025 by the GRA to suspend the proceedings until the criminal charges were dismissed. There again, the GRA claimed that the criminal charges had to be resolved first or else Justice Persaud was at risk of making ‘inconsistent judgments’.
The GRA sought to file no less than five affidavits in defence each on different dates in response to the single Affidavit filed by attorneys-at-law Dhurjon and DaSilva and the judge ruled that the civil procedure rules do not contemplate the filing of so many affidavits in such manner.
Counsel for Mr Mohamed in an invited comment remarked that they are deeply satisfied with “a most considered and strong ruling from the High Court Judge Justice Gino Persaud”, noting that the proceedings were delayed and protected as far as possible by the over 10 attorneys retained by the GRA.
Two separate appeals were filed one of which was fully heard and determined by justices Roxane George and Nareshwar Harnanan in May, 2025.
The GRA was represented by several specially retained attorneys including: Anand Ramlogan SC, Robin Stoby SC, Sanjeev Datadin, Mohanie Angaloo, Maritha Halley, Judy Stuart, Jason Moore, Fiona Hamilton, Ornise Gordon and Nicklin Belgrave.
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