
The Prime Minister’s Office has said the 20 percent duty imposed was a penalty export tax only for Bintang Borneo for illegally extracting bauxite on West Rennell.
It explains the normal duty under Customs law is Zero Percent.
In its defence, the Prime Minister’s Office says the mining company Prime Minister Sogavare communicated with is not the same Bintang Borneo that had unlawfully extracted bauxite from West Rennell and for which the Solomon Islands Government had imposed the 20 percent export tax penalty.




