Some 11 agencies of Government have not paid over statutory deductions amounting to $1.48 billion, which has been deducted from employees' emoluments over a protracted period, according to Auditor General Adrian Strachan.

The Auditor General made the disclosure in his report for the year ending March 2006, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. According to Mr. Strachan, this breach could expose delinquent agencies to legal sanctions and compromise employees' entitlements.

Among the delinquent agencies is the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture.

According to the Auditor General, there was unpaid income tax of $5.79 million, which had been deducted from employees' emoluments over the period July to December 2005.

A breach

"This was a breach of the Income Tax Act and the management was informed to make the necessary remittance at an early date," said the Auditor General.

The Ministry of Education and Youth was also found guilty of not paying over statutory deductions totalling $826.7 million for board members of the National Youth Month Advisory Committee and basic school teachers.

The Bellevue Hospital had also not turned over annual returns for statutory deductions made from employees' emoluments for the National Insurance Scheme and the National Housing Trust. Mr. Strachan did not say how much had not been paid over but said this was since 1994 and that Income Tax returns were not filed for 2005.

The National Environment and Planning Agency had also not paid over education tax and income tax deductions totalling $5.5 million between 2003 and 2005.