Auditor General Leigh Trotman has chastised the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) for failing to do spot checks at its cash collection points across the island, as required by law, and identified discrepancies amounting to millions of dollars for which no explanations have yet been given.In his latest report covering the year ended March 31, 2021, Trotman called for investigations and swift action to address the inconsistencies.The Government’s auditor, whose position is legally protected from political interference, raised specific questions about a more than $6 million difference between what the cashier’s report at one BRA collection point stated and what the Central Bank indicated was collected.According to that September 22, 2020 cashier report for the Treasury Office in Bridge Street Mall, Bridgetown, cheques totalling $10.19 million were collected. However, there was a massive $6.62 million difference between that report and what the Central Bank listed as the amount received.Trotman said the agency’s reported cheque amount “did not agree to the Central Bank listing which recorded $3,536,006.77, resulting in a difference of $6,662,541.31”.
