The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced the removal of the ban on the importation of sex toys amid mounting calls from the public.
“Complaints have been received from persons who import such items that these are not obscene articles as per the current interpretation and treatment. The Customs, Excise and Trade Operations over the years has been treating the importation of “sex toys” and other similar articles as prohibited items, under the item 4 of Part 1 of the List of Prohibited Imports in the Second Schedule to the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01,” the GRA outlined in an internal notice to staff.
The GRA further noted that this issue has affected stakeholders in clearance of items for their personal use, contrary to efforts under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement to remove/reduce barriers to facilitate trade in a changing environment.
Effective January 24, 2022, this situation is no longer be the case. According to GRA, approval is given to allow the imports of sex toys for personal use and not for commercial use.
“The changes in the world today especially with the availability of information via social media has highlighted these articles for use on the open market in North America, Europe and this part of the region. While these articles continue to be classified as obscene articles, many persons, both male and female, revert to using these for their personal and private pleasure, sometimes even recommended by doctors as therapy,” GRA said.
“Based on the demand for the use of “sex toys”, consideration was given to amend the interpretation of these schedules, so that “sex toys” for personal use are not deemed as indecent or obscene articles. This also took into account court rulings, based on legal challenges, against the definition of “obscene articles”,” it added.
