SCHEDULE 11
Exempted supplies for Purposes of Section 18

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) hereby advises taxpayers that based on the Amendments to the Value – Added Tax Act, Cap. 81:05, the following is the revised list of exempt supplies as contained in Schedule II to Act. This list shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1^st of February 2017, except:

1. Paragraph 3, sub-paragraphs (d) and (e); paragraph 6, sub-paragraphs (j); paragraphs 8 sub-paragraph (f) and (g); paragraph 11 sub-paragraph (b), and paragraph 19 which came into operation on 1^st day of January 2019.
2. Paragraph 10 renumbered 10 (a) and 10 (b) inserted which came into operation in 2019.
3. Paragraph 20 which came into operation on 1^st day of October 2020.
4. The Value-Added Tax Act (Amendment of Schedules I and II) Order 2021 which came into operation on the 1^st of March, 2021.

1. In this schedule–

“ancillary transport services” means stevedoring services, lashing and securing services, cargo inspection services, preparation of customs documentation, container handling services and storage of transported goods or goods to be transported;

“export country” means any country other than Guyana and includes a place which is not situated in Guyana, but does not include a specific country or territory that the President by proclamation in the Gazette designates as one that is not an export country;

“foreign-going aircraft” means an aircraft engaged in the transportation for reward of passengers or goods wholly or mainly on flights between a location or locations in Guyana and an airport or airports in export countries, or between airports in export countries;
“international transport services” means –
(a) the services, other than ancillary transport services, of transporting passengers or goods by road, rail, water or air –
(i) from a place outside Guyana to another place outside Guyana where the transport or part of the transport is across the territory of Guyana;
(ii) from a place outside Guyana to a place in Guyana; or
(iii) from a place in Guyana to a place outside Guyana;

(b) the services of transporting passengers from a place in Guyana to another place in Guyana to the extent that transport is by aircraft and constitutes “international carriage” as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation;
(c) the services, including any ancillary transport services, of transporting goods from a place in Guyana to another place in Guyana to the extent that those services are supplied by the same supplier as part of the supply of services to which paragraph (a) applies; or
(d) the services of insuring or the arranging of the insurance or the arranging of the transport of passengers or goods to which paragraphs (a) to (c) apply; and
“residential dwelling” means a building, premises, structure, or any other place, or any part thereof, used predominantly as a place of residence or abode of a natural person or which is intended for use as a place of residence or abode of a natural person, together with any appurtenances belonging thereto and enjoyed therewith, but does not include a hotel, guest house, inn, or other establishment that in the usual course of business provides lodging primarily to guests whose typical stay is less than thirty days.

2. The following supplies are specified as exempt supplies for the purposes of section 18–
(a) a supply of financial services to the extent provided in regulations issued by the Minister;
(b) a supply of international transport services;
(c) a supply of –
(i) kerosene oil;
(ii) liquid propane gas;
(iii) liquid butane gas;
(iv) gasoline; and
(v) diesel;
(d) a supply of–
(i) accommodation in a residential dwelling; or
(ii) leasehold land by way of lease (not being a grant or sale of the lease of that land) to the extent that the subject land is used or is to be used for the principal purpose of accommodation in a residential dwelling erected or to be erected on that land;

(e) a supply of any goods or services by the State, a local authority, or a charity where the consideration for the goods or services is nominal in amount or not intended to recover the cost of such goods or services;
(f) a supply of all goods and services by budget agencies listed in the Schedule to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, Cap 73:02, and by state agencies that perform regulatory functions by statute; or
(g) a supply of locally mined raw gold or diamonds certified by the Guyana Gold Board, the Geology and Mines Commission or other approved authorised dealers in gold and diamond.

3. The following domestic services are exempt for the purposes of section 18 –
(a) funeral services; and
(b) human remains.

4. The following supplies of imported motor vehicles are exempt for the purposes of section 18 –
(a) motor vehicles that are at least 4 years and older from the date of manufacture except coaches and buses which transport more than 21 persons but not exceeding 29 persons;
(b) motor vehicles for persons qualifying for exemption from customs duties under section 23 of the Customs Act;
(c) motor vehicles when imported by any diplomatic mission or consulate or diplomats accredited to Guyana – who qualify under item 6 in Part III B2 of the First Schedule to the Customs Act;
(d) motor vehicles imported by or for the use of the President;
(e) motor vehicles imported by or for the use of the Prime Minister;
(f) total exemptions for vehicles for re-migrants, settlers and returning students shall be in accordance with the provisions of section 23 of the Customs Act, Cap. 82:01; and
(g) motor vehicles designed for use by differently-abled persons, or converted for use by such persons, subject to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, on the conditions that –
(i) the authority representing differently-abled persons certifies that the person and the motor vehicle are eligible; and
(ii) the motor vehicle cannot be transferred, leased or sold for a period of five years from the date of registration.

5. The following supplies of sports gear and sports equipment are exempt for the purposes of section 18 –
(a) a passenger vehicle as shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to have been won abroad, or bestowed as an honorary or prize to a sports personality; and
(b) a supply of cup, medal, shield or similar trophy, which is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner not to be of general utility, not bearing any advertisement, not imported or stocked for the purpose of trade, imported for the purpose of bestowal as an honorary distinction or prize, either won abroad or awarded by a donor resident abroad.

6. Exempted for the purposes of section 18 are –
(a) a supply of machinery and equipment for obtaining, generating and utilizing electricity from renewable energy sources, including solar panels, solar lamps, deep-cycle batteries, solar generators, solar cookers, solar water heaters, (DC) solar refrigerators, direct current (DC) solar freezers, direct current (DC) solar air-conditioners, power inverters, water turbines, wind turbines, energy efficient lighting, including compact fluorescent lamps and light emitting diode (LED) lamps; and
(b) a supply of items including machinery and equipment for utilizing alternate energy technologies, renewable energy options such as gasifiers to use biomass, and harnessing renewable energy through wind, solar and water, as determined by the Commissioner.

7. The following supplies of transportation and travel are exempt for the purposes of section 18 –
(a) bicycles;
(b) outboard engines not exceeding 75 hp;
(c) boats used in rural and riverain areas designed for the transport of goods and persons not exceeding 7.08 cubic metres (250 cubic feet), proven to the satisfaction of the Commissioner; and
(d) aircraft engines, main components and parts, as determined by the Commissioner.

8. The following are exempt for the purposes of section 18 –
(a) coins, bank notes and other monetary instruments imported by or on behalf of the Government;
(b) importation of personal effects by re-migrants who qualify for exemption from customs duties under section 23 of the Customs Act;
(c) goods imported for non-commercial purposes and contained in a passenger’s baggage or imported in gift parcels sent by air or sea or by parcel post, of which the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value does not exceed the Guyana dollar equivalent of two hundred United States dollars (US$200.00), subject to the provisions contained in Annex I of Part I of the First Schedule to the Customs Act;
(d) a supply of goods and services to or use by persons qualifying under Items 44(i) and 44(ii) in Part III B (ii) of the First Schedule to the Customs Act; and
(e) a supply of goods for use by persons qualifying under Item 6 in Part III B (ii) of the First Schedule to the Customs Act.

9. Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are supplies of items, as approved by the Commissioner, (excluding motor vehicles and all-terrain vehicles), imported or acquired for use by charitable organisations or non-governmental organisations or for free distribution to the less fortunate.

10. Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are supplies of goods that have been or will be re-imported into Guyana by the supplier.

11. (a) Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are supplies of postal services rendered by the Guyana Post Office Corporation.
(b) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (a), a supply of postal services means-
(i) sale of domestic and overseas postage stamps; commemorative stamps and revenue stamps;
(ii) delivery of all types of mail but does not include packages;
(iii) delivery of all types of registered mail but does not include packages;
(iv) delivery, tracking and tracing of mail utilizing the express mail service; and
(vi) the advice of delivery services rendered for domestic and overseas mail tracking.

12. (a) Exempt for the purposes of section 18 is a supply of Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) Fee, airport security fee and passenger screening fee.
(b) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (a) –
(i) “CUTE Fee” means the fee charged for using the airport check in counters, flight information display system, conveyor system, and the airline check in systems inclusive of the boarding gates;
(ii) “airport security fee” means the fee charged for use of staff and equipment to screen passengers at all access control points and gates inclusive of the hold baggage screening; and
(iii) “passenger screening fee” means the fee charged for screening of a departing passenger at the main screening point of the airport.

13. Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are buses less than four years old used to transport more than 21 persons but not exceeding 29 persons.

14. Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are supplies of complete housing units costing less than 6.5 million dollars and built by or on behalf of the Central Housing and Planning Authority or any other approved entity.

15. Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are smartphones and handsets with special applications and accessibility features for differently-abled persons, as certified by the authority representing differently-abled persons, proven to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.

16. Exempt for the purposes of section 18 are supplies of mobile phones.