LRA Remains Unbending In Legitimate Revenue Collection

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has renewed its commitment to legitimate collection of revenue for the government.

Under Declared Goods Seized by LRA

Commissioner of Customs, Saa Saamoi highlighted strive the LRA is making to modernize customs administrations, with emphasis on the Centralized Customs Assessment and other development at the Freeport of Monrovia.

Commissioner Saamoi said the LRA remains unbending in legitimate revenue collection to foster continuous infrastructural growth and development in the country.

The LRA urges importers to engage in fair declarations as well as cautioning taxpayers, especially importers of goods and owners of cargos to fairly declare every item loaded in containers entering the country, as it remains resolute in the collection of every lawful penny due the Government in line with the Liberia Revenue Code.

With the aid of the newly introduced Centralized Assessment System and an inspection exercise, the LRA was able to discover that business owners are unfairly declaring goods and other items imported, Commissioner Saamoi stated, adding that it undermines revenue generation and the Government’s Pro Poor Agenda.

The examination of containers is intended to institute compliance risk management that ensures proper identification of every item imported in the Country.

Based upon investigation and intelligence gathered by the Authority, all goods under declared at the Freeport of Monrovia and other entry points across the country will be seize for proper inspection and declaration.

In addition to the seizure, all goods will be value based on the actual costs, for the collection of the lawful revenue as required by the Code.

The LRA urges all business owners to desist from cheating the Government of Liberia, stating that the new inspection activities currently ongoing at the Freeport of Monrovia is meant to strengthen the LRA verification for under declared items and is not intended to overcharge business owners as being falsely accentuated by some importers.

Meanwhile, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) in collaboration with Orange Liberia and United Bank for Africa (UBA) had launched Liberia’s first Mobile Tax Payment Service with belief that the service will significantly contribute to its modernization and transformation agenda.

The mobile tax payment platform will be operated by Orange Liberia, while the United Bank for Africa will manage the payment deposits. This is the first private-to-government payment mode in Liberia.

USAID Revenue Generation for Governance and Growth (RG3) Project worked closely with LRA to design payment, reporting & reconciliation architecture and automate the LRA part of the solution. As a result, a Proof of Concept Agreement (PoC) was signed in 2017 between the collaborating partners LRA, Orange Liberia and the United Bank for Africa Liberia.

The platform is expected to facilitate easy payment of all taxes and fees and reduce the burden on taxpayers who cover long distances to pay taxes with an easily service accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The mobile tax payment service will cover all tax and non-tax fee collections including Business Income Tax (2%, 4%), Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, Excise Tax, GST, Withholding, Real Estate Tax, as well as Birth, Marriage, Travel Clearance, Fire Safety, Business Registration Renewal Certificates.