The Bruce Golding-led Caricom Review Commission indicated yesterday that the current dispute between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and Jamaican-owned Sandals Resorts International (SRI) had come up on its radar, in respect of the issue of perceived unfair practices.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne recently withdrew a tax concession agreement that Sandals had signed with the previous Baldwin Spencer Government in 2009, saying it was illegal and accusing the hotel of not paying over sales tax under the agreement.

Sandals has hit back that Browne’s decision was done unilaterally, without notice and without any evidence of wrongdoing on the hotel’s part. SRI has also said it would sue the Antigua Government for defaming its vaunted international brand.

At the first meeting of his star-studded 17-member commission, Golding was asked by journalists if the review body was aware of the dispute and what approach, if any, it would take to seek a resolution.

“Yes, it has come up on our radar in a generic way, because it would have to do with the question of perceived unfair practices,” Golding, the former Jamaican prime minister, said.

Commenting on Browne’s accusations of withholding taxes, Sandals insisted that it had been operating in Antigua and Barbuda since 1992 and had consistently been audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and more recently by Grant Thornton International, as well as by the Government’s own tax department and “never has there been cause for any such accusations”.

“In 2015, we paid to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda taxes in excess of US$5.2 million and in the financial year 2016 we paid over US$5.8 million in taxes. We estimate that our direct contribution to the economy of Antigua and Barbuda exceeds US$27.5 million per annum and we earn more foreign currency than any other resort chain on the island,” SRI said.

“As far as the 2009 Host Country Agreement is concerned, that agreement actually dates back to 2000 and was signed by the then Government led by Sir Lester Bird. The basis for the concession agreement had to do with our commitment to build at least another 100 rooms. In fact, we went much further by constructing 180 suites at a cost of over US$100 million,” SRI added.

SRI said it was proud that the hotel operated the flagship resort in Antigua and Barbuda, and of the fact that “our 750 employees are the highest paid in Antigua and Barbuda and which makes us the largest private employer on the island”.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness established the Caricom Review Commission in response to numerous complaints from Jamaicans about problems encountered in some Caribbean Community territories, despite freedom of movement provisions in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

Golding’s meeting coincided with day two of the annual Caribbean Heads of Government Summit which got underway Monday in Georgetown, Guyana, where the Caricom Secretariat is housed. He stressed that his team did not have authority to intervene in such a dispute as the Sandals/Antigua imbroglio.

“That’s a dispute which has to be resolved through the appropriate dispute-resolution mechanism, whether that is through the judicial process or through the processes provided under the Caricom treaty. That is not something that we would be competent to adjudicate and we don’t have the authority to do that.

“But generally speaking, we would be looking at the provisions of the treaty and the extent to which those provisions are being adhered to. For example, there are issues having to do with the right of establishment, the right of people to establish businesses.

“There are some issues where in some countries it is still not possible for non-nationals of those countries to own land, which would be counter to the spirit and indeed the letter of the CSME (Caricom Single Market and Economy), so those are issues that we certainly would be looking at,” Golding said.

Golding did not expect the commission to be stuck on any hardline position, but he disclosed that commission members were clear in their recognition that “Caricom has problems”. And those problems had to be identified, worked through and a way found to fix it so it could work properly, which is what his commission would be working towards.

“I think the members are open to looking at all aspects of Caricom… How are decisions taken? How are disputes resolved? Are the mechanisms for resolving disputes like that (Sandals) adequate, or do they need to be strengthened?”

Golding said the commission, which met at the foreign ministry in New Kingston, agreed to break down into four working groups, looking at economic implications; functional co-operation; the wider Caribbean and the opportunities for economic relationships beyond Caricom; as well as the Caricom mechanisms which he described as “a major, major problem” relating to how decisions are taken and problems solved.

The commission will meet again next week and every two weeks after that. Its first report is expected in December 2016.