Malika Briglall

Privacy, confidentially and security – Customers are guaranteed a safe, secure, confidential and customer friendly environment when conducting business with the Guyana Gold Board, whether during the sale of gold or simply requesting letters or other documentation for Guyana Revenue Authority or Bank purposes.

Miners and shop operators selling to illegal buyers are often times not provided with receipts to substantiate their sales and thus it will be difficult and cumbersome at the end of the year when they are required to submit their income tax returns or when renewing their dredge/shop licenses. Taxes deducted when selling to the Guyana Gold Board will be remitted to Guyana Revenue Authority on a monthly basis under your relevant TIN, thus come year end all that is required for you to file your tax return is a declaration letter from the Guyana Gold Board. This declaration letter is issued free of cost and is duly accepted by the Guyana Revenue Authority.

The price paid for gold purchased by Guyana Gold Board is not only dependent on the purity of the gold, but also on the prevailing price of gold on the London Bullion Marketing Authority (LBMA).

Notwithstanding this, the higher the purity the more per ounce you would be paid.

The purity of the gold is ascertained using the dry and water densities of the gold. Samples are also taken for testing from customer selling 10 ounces or more, where the cost of analyzing the sample is subsidized over 50% by Guyana Gold Board for testing done at Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and over 65% for analyses done at the Royal Canadian Mint. The payments are subsequently adjusted when results from such assay processes are returned to Guyana Gold Board, with the result that customers either receive additional payments where there are positive results or are required to reimburse excesses on their next sale, if the results are negative.

If Customers are not satisfied with the result of the Guyana Gold Board dry and water density test, they have the option to request that their gold is assayed, even though the gold is not of a sample quantity. It can firstly be sent to Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for testing for a small fee of four thousand, five hundred dollars ($4,500) and if they are still not satisfied when that result returns, then the sample can be sent to the Royal Canadian Mint for further testing after an additional fee of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) is paid. The results from Royal Canadian Mint would act as the final settlement, since analyses by that firm are internationally recognized.

Selling to the Guyana Gold Board and paying of the relevant royalties and taxes ensure that the Government, and more so the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission that is mandated with the role of oversight of the mining sector, have the finances necessary to ensure that roads and other infrastructural works are put in place to foster safe mining and boost the mining sector. Thus selling to the Guyana Gold Board is a direct means of contributing to development of the mining industry and the Country’s economy as a whole.

Miners, shop operators and other persons in possession of gold are often of the firm belief that selling to the Guyana Gold Board would result in them having a lower value for their hard earned precious metal, since they are required to pay royalties @ 5% and taxes on the newly implement sliding scale system (under US$1,100 per ounce – 2% tax; between US$1,101 – 1,300 per ounce – 2.5% tax; between US$1,301 – 1,600 per ounce – 3%; and above US$1,600 per ounce – 3.5%). However, even after the mandatory deductions of royalties and taxes, the price per ounce offered by the Guyana Gold Board on a daily basis (Mondays – Fridays excluding holidays when we are closed) are usually higher than what would be obtained if the gold were sold to illegal buyers.

Selling to illegal buyers also puts you at a disadvantage when filing your tax returns as more often than not you will not be given an official receipt which you can use for tax purposes. In addition if you are given a receipt it would not be accepted by the Guyana Revenue Authority for tax purposes. Individuals selling to the Guyana Gold Board have the option of receiving their payments partly by cash, cheque and/or in foreign currency (10% USD). Thus when making foreign purchases for machinery or spare parts you would not be at the receiving end of inflated foreign exchange rates charged by some Cambios and/or banks or worse yet suffer delays in ordering your items as a result of insufficiency or non-availability of foreign currency.

All scales used are calibrated by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards at least twice annually to ensure that weights are just. Additionally, weighing and other processing of the gold is always done in the customers’ presence and on at least two different scales, thereby preventing the likelihood of any under or over payments.

Selling to the GGB and paying of the relevant royalties and taxes ensure that the Government and more so the GGMC, the entity mandated with oversight of the mining sector have the finances necessary to ensure that roads and other infrastructural works are put in place to foster safe mining and boost the mining sector. Thus selling to the GGB is a direct means of contributing to development of the mining industry and more so the economy as a whole.