The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ordered Guyana to refund the Trinidad-based beverage company, SM Jaleel (SMJ) and its subsidiary over Guyana’s imposition of an environmental tax applied to products packaged using non-recyclable material imported there.
In delivering the judgment on Tuesday in Port-of-Spain the CCJ ruled that the tax was illegal and contrary to the principles of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) as it was only applied to goods imported into that country and not to similar items produced by its local manufacturers.
The court ordered Guyana to pay to the companies “the aggregate sum paid by them in Environmental Tax” from March 7, 2011 to August 7, 2015 together with interest at four per cent per annum from the date of judgement.
Guyana is also ordered to pay 70 per cent of the cost of the court proceedings which are to be taxed if not agreed, CCJ President, Sir Dennis Byron said in delivering a summary of the judgment.
He also ordered Guyana to file with the CCJ on or before December 9, 2017 a report on its compliance of those orders unless the companies do so before.
The CCJ gave one month from Tuesday for Guyana and the companies to quantify and agree to the aggregate amount to be refunded and legal costs, although the Court knows the figure based on the receipts.
