By Sulaiman Jalloh
Mrs. Jeneba Kpaka-Bangura, the Commissioner General of National Revenue Authority (NRA) has disclosed that her institution in 2023 collected about NLe10.1 billion from the targeted amount of NLe10.277 which was set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noting it is only about 4% short, adding 2023 was a challenging year including the June 24th elections in the country, something she said caused many business people not to release their money as they were afraid of what will happen during the elections. She also cited security challenges in the country last year.
According to the commissioner general, because of the challenges faced, they were unable to implement any of Finance Acts but were still able to collect such a substantial amount.
“Because of the challenges we had, we were not able to implement none of the Finance Acts” she said, saying because her institution was unable to enforce all the implementations of the Finance Act 2023, saying “the Ministry of Finance has added the 2024 quota and told us that Parliament of Sierra Leone will approve their budget to NLe14.972 billion as a target, conferring it to as forty-eight percent (48%) added to the 2023 target.” This, according to her, is to make them do better than last year.
She noted that NRA has started configuring their systems; for example, she said the Finance Act 2024 has increased the tax on imported rice, cooking gas, and iron rod, noting for such Act to be implemented, they need to configure all their systems. She added that the National Revenue Authority is supporting the free quality education program.
Speaking on reforms, she said NRA feeds into the ‘BIG FIVE’ game changers [the development priorities of government], adding that the revenue collection agency is technology conscious.
“Anywhere you are in the world, you can do your declaration without coming to the custom and one thing added to that system is text message. We all know that if you are an agent and you have your phone number in the system, we will notify you on every step along the way,” the NRA boss said.
The commissioner General however urged citizens on the use of the Electronic Cash Register (ECR) in order to collect their GST receipt, noting that by collecting the receipt of the ECR, the person have ensured that his/her GST payment goes to government.
Mrs. Jeneba Kpaka-Bangura was speaking on Tuesday, February 20th, 2023 during the Ministry of Information and Civic Education’s weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign affairs and International Cooperation conference hall.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, February 23rd, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)