Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ramps Logistics, Shaun Rampersad on Friday paid bail of GY$500,000 to the Supreme Court, and in so doing, avoided custody for charges of false declarations to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for its duty-free imports.
Rampersaud appeared as a representative on behalf of the company before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The 10 charges alleged that Ramps Logistics between 2021 and 2022, at Georgetown, made several false declarations for consideration of a customs officer, on an application presented to him for tax exemption on items.
The court heard that the company untruly declared itself to be the seller of several items including heavy-duty machines, dehydrated substances, and calcium chloride.
He denied the allegations and was represented by a battery of attorneys, which included prominent lawyer, Nigel Hughes. Hughes told the court that his client is not a flight risk and only returned to Guyana on Thursday to defend the company’s integrity.
In his application for self-bail, the attorney said that Rampersaud is a businessman and has assets in Guyana and overseas.
The Magistrate released Rampersaud on GY$50,000 bail for each count and adjourned the case until November 25.
Ramps is a logistics company that was incorporated in 2013 and is parented by Ramps Logistics Limited out of Trinidad and Tobago. The company called the charges “baseless” and is committed to clearing its name.
Ramps had said that the declaration filed with the GRA is in respect of duty-free imports. It said there are no taxes or duties applicable on the imports, and so, there is no loss of revenue to the GRA.
Ramps is also currently before the court, this time as an applicant seeking Judicial Review against the Local Content Secretariat, for not granting the company a Local Content Certificate.
The company is seeking several orders from the court including a declaration that “as a Guyanese Company” it is “entitled” to be issued with a Certificate of Registration and to be entered into the Local Content Register. Ramps said it is at risk of losing a US$25 million contract from ExxonMobil and could be put in a position to render 100 employees redundant if the certificate is not granted.
The case is currently before Acting Chief Justice Roxane George, S.C., and comes up for arguments on November 11.
