A protest march called by the members and management of the Linden Utility Services Cooperative Society Limited (LUSCSL), to demonstrate their rejection of the Guyana Revenue Authority’s demand for VAT on the electricity supply to Wismar residents, was abruptly halted on Thursday morning.The protest, which drew a crowd of peeved residents, commenced at LUSCSL’s Burnham Drive office and proceeded up the road to the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge.All the ferry boats ceased operating by 9 a.m., and some residents had proceeded to block the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge.Police who were on the scene soon had the blockage removed,Andrew Benintendi Jersey, however, and advised the crowd to congregate on the Wismar shore.Somewhat reluctant at first, the crowd soon complied.It was at this juncture that the protest was called off after Secretary of LUSCSL,Asics Dynaflyte 2 Comprar, Charles Sampson, informed the gathering that LUSCSL had received a letter from the GRA earlier,Authentic MLB Jerseys, which stated that the latter had withdrawn the claim of a VAT liability from LUSCSL.Sampson told the crowd that the GRA in its correspondence to LUSCSL indicated that it had written Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, requesting a VAT waiver on the money which LUSCSL purportedly owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority, and that the waiver had been granted.Visibly relieved by the good news, the residents slowly dispersed and returned to their homes and offices.LUSCSL is however required to pay VAT on all other services provided,Blake Swihart Jersey, including the sale of logs from the Society’s (LUSCSL) logging concession, and for provision of meter-reading services to the Linden Electricity Company Incorporated (LECI), according to the GRA correspondence.The first protest march was called by LUSCSL on Monday to protest GRA’s demand of G$11,Basketball Shoes Cheap Online,932,730 from LUSCSL, something that the GRA claimed was a VAT liability for the period April to December 2008.It was at that protest that members of LUSCSL were mandated, by members of its Board of Directors, to recommence the protest action on Wednesday.However the protest was subsequently rescheduled to Thursday to allow for the 72 hours required by police for granting approval for any public protest.VAT is not levied on electricity in any other part of Guyana,Asics Shoes Outlet, and Wismar residents would have been the first consumers of this vital utility to be saddled with this rate increase, according to the residents.GRA had indicated however that this situation was attributable to the fact that LUSCSL is not a licensed distributor, having not been registered under the Electricity Sector Reform Act of 2005.LUSCSL had countered that claim by stating that they had applied several times for a distribution licence, but to date none has been issued. (Enid Joaquin)