Parent company of Courts St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Unicomer St. Vincent Ltd, is to pay just over $20 million to the Inland Revenue Department, in unpaid taxes, including interest and penalties.
Comptroller of the Inland Revenue Department Kelvin Pompey, during an interview on WE FM’s Activated Mornings program said the department had received a judgement from the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, which ruled that the department was correct in its 2015 assessment.
“On Thursday, the department received judgment from the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal on a matter that has been going through the courts with regards to the Inland Revenue Department versus Unicomer; and effectively, essentially at the end of the day, what the court ruled is that the tax department was correct in its assessment, which started since 2015. And as a consequence, Unicomer is supposed to be paying to the tax department an amount just a little over $20 million at this point in time.” He said.
Mr. Pompey also provided background as to how the case had made its way to the court of appeal.
“This matter started, as I said, in 2015. It went through the Objections Unit, that is the Department Objections Unit. They ruled in department favor. Unicomer then appealed to the commissioners of appeal, which is an external body that handles tax matters. The appeal commissioners also ruled in the department’s favor, and Unicomer then appealed to the High Court here in St. Vincent. The High Court ruled in the department’s favor. Unicomer then appealed to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, and that body also, last week, ruled in the department’s favor.”
Mr. Pompey, said that since the department has exhibited tolerance and patience up to this point, in not collecting the outstanding amount, he expects that before the end of this week, a demand for the full outstanding amount will be made.
Unicomer St. Vincent Ltd, in an official release, said that they firmly believe, based on specialist tax and legal advice, that they have fully complied with all tax regulations in Saint Vincent and The Grenadines.
The company says that they are now moving to appeal the judgment to the Privy Council, Saint Vincent’s highest appellate court. They made clear that this is a corporate matter that has no impact on Courts or their staff members, and that any step taken will consider their business continuity, the well-being of their staff members, customers and continuous support to the community.
They go on to say in their release that they are committed to following all laws and policies of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as all other countries in which they operate.
