Foreign businesses are allowed to operate in Guyana through locally incorporated companies. Business registration is facilitated through the Deeds Registry, and there are no laws and practices that discriminate against foreign investors, allowing them the same rights as local companies. The Companies Act (9/91) governs the registration of an incorporated business which requires some additional steps for the registration of a foreign company. The information and documents required to incorporate and register a foreign or “external” company in Guyana, as well as the required fees, can be found here in this Incorporation Guide by GO-Invest. All companies operating in Guyana must register with the Registrar of Companies. Businesses in the sectors requiring specific licenses, such as mining, telecommunications, forestry, and banking must obtain operation licenses from the relevant competent authorities before commencing operations. Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) provides facilitation services to foreign investors, particularly in completing administrative formalities, such as commercial registration and applications for land purchases or leases.

Both domestic and foreign investors are offered a range of incentives. These can take the form of exemption from various taxes, accelerated depreciation rates, full and unrestricted repatriation of capital, profits, and dividends. Companies investing in Guyana can be guided on entitled tax concessions through the investment facilitation agency GO-Invest. Incentives for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) include income tax holidays, and tariff and value-added tax (VAT) exemptions. A number of companies/businesses, both foreign and domestic, have in the past benefited from investment incentives such as corporate tax exemption, income tax exemption, export tax exemption on non-traditional exports and, exemption from customs duty, excise tax and value added tax.

The tax year (annual accounting period) is the calendar year. Tax is assessed during a tax year on income earned during the year of assessment, which is generally the calendar year preceding the tax year. Companies with an accounting year other than a calendar year may, however, be allowed to account for taxes by adopting their accounting year (fiscal year) as their income year. Corporate tax is payable in advance quarterly instalments on the preceding year's tax liability. Advance tax payments are due on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September, and 15 December of the calendar year prior to the tax year. Resident companies (if it’s control and management are exercised in Guyana) are subject to tax on their worldwide income. Non-resident companies carrying on a trade or business in Guyana are subject to tax on income derived from Guyana, regardless of where the income is received. Information on Guyana Tax Regime can be found here in this publication by PKF, Barcellos, Narine & Co. Charted Accountants, Guyana.

Dividends paid to residents are Tax free. Dividends paid to Non Residents are subject to Withholding Tax at 20% or at treaty rates.

The legal currency for declaring income in Guyana is the Guyana Dollar; however, many businesses maintain multiple-currency accounting systems for operational purposes.

The Guyanese Dollar (GYD) is the official currency of Guyana, and was introduced in 1966 after Guyana gained independence from the UK. Guyana has a floating exchange rate determined by supply and demand, predominantly driven by activities of its commercial banks, which set daily exchange rates. The Guyana dollar is pegged to the USD and the current Bank of Guyana (Central Bank) exchange rate per USD is GYD207.98 buying and GYD210.45 selling. The official spread between buying and selling rates on foreign currency transactions is no more than G$3, and no more than G$1.5 in wire transfer. Kindly click link below for official Circular on this item. https://www.bankofguyana.org.gy/bog/images/bank_supervision/Commercial20Bank20-Notification.pdf

The Guyana dollar is fully convertible and transferable. There are no limits on inflows or repatriation of funds, although occasional shortages of foreign currency may occur. Regulations require that all persons leaving and entering Guyana declare all currency in excess of US$10,000 to customs authorities at the port of entry, but there is no limit on the acquisition of foreign currency. Regulations on foreign currency denominated bank accounts allow funds to be wired in and out of the country electronically without having to go through cumbersome exchange procedures. It is common practice for foreign investors to use subsidiaries outside of Guyana to handle earnings generated by exports.

Guyana is governed by three separate, but complementary, branches of government: the Legislature (National Assembly), the Executive (President, Cabinet and Government Departments) and the Judiciary (Courts) which practices an English Common Law-based system with some Dutch influences. The judiciary structure consists of multiple magistrate's courts for each of the ten administrative regions and a Supreme Court consisting of a High Court and a Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal is the highest local court but the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) was adopted by Guyana as its final court of appeal in 2005.

2.1 It has been mentioned several times that there are many infrastructure projects that the government is focusing on moving on, such as for electricity / energy / renewable energy, ports, roads, bridges, utilities etc. In each of these projects, what type of concession will be provided? Will the project be awarded on a PPP basis, like BOT or BOOT? Will it be a concession for the company to design, build for the government and then deliver? Perhaps each type of project will be treated differently? Concessions are facilitated on a project-by-project basis through interaction with GO-Invest which works with the investor to produce an Investment Agreement with the Government. PPP methods of project implementation such as BOT and BOOT have so far been rarely used by the Government, since most projects are of relatively short terms and are financed by the Government (directly or by loans). One known example of a PPP project is the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated which utilized the BOT model with the Government maintaining majority shares in the company, being the major investor. Similarly, a major opportunity for implementation of the BOT or BOOT model would be in the construction of the Georgetown to Lethem road (I had previously identified this as a Manifesto item) which can be financed, built and operated over a period of time by a private or public-private-partnership company collecting tolls to recover expenditures and net a profit. The most common method utilized by the Government for the delivery of projects is the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) commonly known as “turnkey” contracts. I have not been able to find any information on government plans for establishing ports but will be making some inquiries.

Concessions are facilitated on a project-by-project basis through interaction with GO-Invest which works with the investor to produce an Investment Agreement with the Government. PPP methods of project implementation such as BOT and BOOT have so far been rarely used by the Government, since most projects are of relatively short terms and are financed by the Government (directly or by loans). One known example of a PPP project is the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated which utilized the BOT model with the Government maintaining majority shares in the company, being the major investor. Similarly, a major opportunity for implementation of the BOT or BOOT model would be in the construction of the Georgetown to Lethem road (I had previously identified this as a Manifesto item) which can be financed, built and operated over a period of time by a private or public-private-partnership company collecting tolls to recover expenditures and net a profit. The most common method utilized by the Government for the delivery of projects is the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) commonly known as “turnkey” contracts. I have not been able to find any information on government plans for establishing ports but will be making some inquiries.

The Government is keenly interested in establishing several world class hotels for which generous incentives are available, and therefore recently issued RFP inviting hotel investors to submit proposals for establishing same. The deadline for submission of RFP expired on 2nd November but I have included as an attachment the RFP used for this concluded process which will provide some insight into the requirements for the submission of such proposals. Proposals were requested from both developers using private land or seeking Government land for development. In the latter instance, the Government would have identified potential sites suitable for such projects. The developer was also required to specify the terms and conditions under which Government land was being requested including basis of valuation and terms of lease, sale, or lease with an option to buy. I suggest that GO-Invest be approached to inquire of any current or future opportunities in this regard.

The Government developmental policies include incentives for priority areas including renewable energy, agriculture (including livestock), and agro-processing. The Government is developing 600,000 acres (250,000 hectares) of Intermediate Savannahs, with very good agricultural potential. It is offering investors access to land under very favorable terms for undertaking specific agricultural related projects, details of which can be had from GO-Invest.

Foreign and domestic firms have the right to establish and own business enterprises and engage in all forms of remunerative activity, however, some key sectors like aviation, forestry, banking, and tourism are heavily regulated and require licensing. Further guidance in this regard can be had from GO-Invest.

The Excise Tax Act 2005 can be found here. Trade procedures fall under the auspices of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) of the Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. The Government continues to take steps to improve the ease of trade, including a reduction in products requiring licenses. While the number of products requiring import and export licenses have been greatly reduced, importers and exporters need to ascertain from the Ministry whether they need a license. Import licenses are required and granted by the Ministry for a very limited category of items. These include medicinal drugs; fresh, frozen and chilled meat, fresh fruits, beet sugar, wheaten flour, rice, cane sugar, organic and inorganic fertilizers, petroleum and petroleum by-products, beauty and makeup preparations, aircraft, helicopters, spacecraft including satellites, and military weapons (e.g., revolvers, pistols, bombs, grenades, torpedoes, bayonets, lances and similar arms). Export Licenses are required for the following items: poultry feed, rice bran, rice chips, rice dust, rice stock feed, wheat flour, wheat bran, wheat middling’s/wheat screenings, beet sugar and cane sugar in solid form, fertilizers, hides and skins, feathers, bird skins with feathers, feathers prepared, ornamental feathers and other articles of feather, gold, jewelry of precious metal or rolled precious metal, copper waste and scrap, arms and ammunition At present Guyana does not operate free trade zones. Detailed information on the Regulatory Environment can be found here on GO-Invest website.

Customs Clearance – Imports: Importers are allowed to act on their own behalf to clear goods, although competent customs brokers are recommended for efficiency. Customs must be provided with a copy of the clearance form upon importation, together with supporting documents, such as an invoice from the supplier, a bill of lading and/or a license and, when requested, a certificate of origin. Valuation is based on invoice or purchase prices. Guyana is a signatory to the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. Taxes must be paid before delivery of the goods. Customs inspections are carried out at the port of entry before the goods are cleared for delivery. Clearance times range, but normally fall between 2 and 3.5 days. Customs Clearance – Export: Exporters are allowed to act on their own behalf to clear goods, although competent customs brokers are recommended to save time and money. Most exporters will seek permission to load on-site, i.e., at their premise, which means that a Customs Officer will come to the exporter’s place of work to inspect the goods during the loading of the container. At least two-hours notice is required to schedule an on-site loading inspection. After the inspection, the container is sealed and a customs form returned to the broker/exporter to deliver along with the shipment to the shipping company.