Monrovia – The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) is cautioning taxpayers, especially importers of goods and owners of cargos to fairly declare every items 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.
The LRA which has introduced a new customs systems, the Centralized Assessment System, and inspection exercise has discovered that business owners are unfairly declaring goods and other items imported.
This, the Authority strongly believes undermines revenue generation and the Government’s Pro Poor Agenda.
Based on investigation and intelligence gathered by the LRA, 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.
The LRA wishes to state clearly that the examination of containers is intended to institute compliance risk management that ensures proper identification of every items imported in the Country.
Commissioner General Elfrieda Stewart Tamba says the LRA will not provide sanctuaries for importers who are in the habit of under declaring or smuggling.
‘Based on our intelligence, we will randomly select containers for examination and inspection because we don’t want stolen vehicles or expired items to come in Liberia,’ added CG Tamba.
CG Tamba noted that as the LRA strives to collect lawful revenues for the growth and development of Liberia, it is the social responsibilities of every Liberian and business owners to engage into fair and transparent business practices.