Lynvale Hamilton, President of the Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association - file photo
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Lynvale Hamilton
The Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association has come to the defence of its member O'Brien's International Car Sales and Rental which is at the centre of a controversy surrounding the purchase of used vehicles for the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
The company has so far delivered 30 vehicles but is struggling to clear another 66 on the wharf.
The company's request to seek a waiver of the Special Consumption Tax and General Consumption Tax required to clear the vehicles was rejected.
Lynvale Hamilton, President of the Association, said he has seen a copy of the tender document and it was obvious that the taxes were not included.
He argued that the government failed to do the necessary due diligence, adding that it should have ascertained why O'Brien's bid was lower than other dealers.
Mr. Hamilton said the government should have expected to pay the taxes for the 66 cars on the wharf because it paid it for the first set of vehicles.
"If you set a precedence where you have the moratorium on the SCT and GCT for the first set, wouldn't it be fear for the dealer to expect that the others would be cleared the same way?" he questioned.
Furthermore, Mr. Hamilton is of the view that taxes should not be applied to vehicles imported for the police.
"It cannot be sensible for high ranking police officers and certain government workers to be exempt for paying General Consumption Tax and Special Consumption Tax on vehicles for their personal use and at the same time, the Ministry of National Security does not enjoy such exemptions on vehicles being purchased to be used to fight the crime monster," he asserted.
It was revealed on Monday that the Ministry of Finance is moving to collect the more than $200 million paid to O'Brien's International for the purchase of the vehicles.
The Ministry is awaiting guidance from the Attorney General on how to go about recovering its deposit.
The Ministry has also written to a bank demanding the $42 million bond put up by O'Brien's International.
Consideration is also being given to seizing the company's assets as it is said to be struggling to fulfil the quota of 200 vehicles.
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