The government has outlined a comprehensive plan to harness income from taxation in the economy. Amongst others the plan which aims at strengthening tax compliance would see the government establishing a revenue task force for the collection of customs duties and taxes at the Freetown port.

Outlining this in the government's statement of economic and financial policies for fiscal 2025, Mr Sheku Bangura, Sierra Leone's Minister of Finance told the Parliament that the government is very much concerned with holes in tax collection and now determined to plug the loopholes.

“With technical assistance from AFRITAC West 2, the government will establish a dedicated revenue task force within Customs. This task force will focus on increasing customs duties and tax collection, particularly at the Port of Freetown. It will be led by a dedicated management team and include the following units: Risk Management and Post-Clearance Audit units, a specialist team of Customs Officers responsible for inspections and document reviews, and an Intelligence Team providing additional support.

These measures aim to ensure effective revenue collection and improved compliance across all taxpayer categories.

“The short-term focus would be on increasing the collection of customs duties and taxes. This task force will focus on the Port of Freetown and will be led by a dedicated management team”.

To enhance tax compliance and reform customs revenue, the Minister of Finance detailed several tax administration measures that the NRA will implement. These include:

To strengthen tax compliance, the National Revenue Authority (NRA) will continue to carry out tax audits for high-risk taxpayers, including in the extractive industries, manufacturing and telecoms sectors; undertake data matching to expand the tax base through identification of unregistered businesses and under-declared tax revenues, finalize and implement the Compliance Improvement Plans for medium and large taxpayers as well as High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs).

When fully operationalized the Electronic Single Window (ESW) is expected to reduce leakages and under-valuation, whilst fast-tracking the clearance process at Customs; and operationalize Taxpayer Service Centers in the Western Area to support and improve compliance of small and medium taxpayers.