The GST Act; Amended for G.O.B.’s Convenience?

Mark Lizarraga

Last Friday, the House also passed an amendment to the GST Act which affects tour operators. It came on the heels of a ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice in October ordering G.O.B. to repay more than half a million dollars to Cruise Solutions Limited and Discovery Expeditions Limited. The C.C.J. ruling set aside an earlier decision from the Belize Court of Appeal and declared that Cruise Solutions had been unlawfully assessed and charged by the GST Department for the supply of tour services. The amendment has the effect of preventing G.O.B. from complying with the C.C.J. ruling. According to Senator Lizarraga, the law should have been amended years ago and not when it is convenient.  He says we can no longer rely on government to respect the rule of law and the highest courts in the land.

Mark Lizarraga, Senator for Business Community

“If there was uncertainty in this piece of legislation, we should have corrected it by an S.I. or by coming back to the House in 2006/7 or 8 or nine or ten, but certainly not 2018 when we are faced with this liability. I made mention that many times laws are passed and the intent of the laws or at least what is told by the politicians does not translate through when it reaches the administrative parts of government or when it reached the procedures and administratively there are sometimes differences. So it is unfortunate that this matter has taken so long to be dealt with and it had to be dealt with legally because if the intent was to tax this segment of business in the country, legislatively we should have made it very clear from the onset. And we knew that there was uncertainty and there was differing points of view on the interpretation of the legislation. And as legislators we have a right to reform laws if we find flaws in them.”