By Elizabeth Allie-Blango-Campbell
Since Sierra Leone recorded its first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, the NRA has had to rearrange its operations for revenue generation. Even though this rearrangement has had some minor operational implications, it has not been enough to inflict a complete breakdown within the institution.
As a response mechanism, the NRA instituted social distancing arrangements to limit contact among the staff and between them and the general public.
The effect of COVID- 19 cannot be overemphasized, as many economies around the world have crumbled, exports and import volumes have dwindled tremendously, and this has affected revenue inflow. But things seem to be coming back to normal, as most countries are beginning to open up gradually. This was emphasized by Dr. Philip Kargbo, Director, Monitoring, Research and Planning, as assurance to taxpayers.
Dr. Kargbo said it is quite glaring that most of what is consumed domestically is imported from countries like China, USA and UK.
In Sierra Leone, much of the farming activities are done on a subsistence basis, with most focusing on rice production. Despite this, said Dr Kargbo, there is a very huge volume of rice importation in the country.
“This is the drawback of an import driven economy, where we rely on other countries for most consumables which are now the epicenter of the COVID- 19 disease and it is difficult to transact business whilst they grapple with health issues,” he stated.
Kargbo added that social activities have stopped as a result of measures put in place by government and that consumption level has extensively reduced as a consequence. All of these put together, he noted, have affected the collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and other areas of revenue mobilization.
According to Dr. Kargbo, prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the NRA and partners met to look at their provisional projected targets for 2020. The yearly target was projected at Le6.47 Trillion. But because of the pandemic, the target has been reduced by Le1.1 Trillion, meaning that the new target is now set at Le5.622 Trillion. This reduction, he said, will affect government’s plans and projects, without the intervention of other international donor institutions.
Preliminary figures suggest that the NRA has in the first half of this year collected the sum Le2.671 Trillion from January to June 2020.
Kargbo said the NRA has lost the sum of Le383 billion, when compared to the original target set for the year as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
However, there are high hopes, as most global economies are re-opening. China, Europe, USA are among the most frequent trading partners with the country and are thus reviewing certain business restrictions. This means that the flow of import or export activities will have to resume and the country will come alive once again.
As a responsible institution, the National Revenue Authority implemented its Business Continuity Plan to essentially keep the institution afloat in terms of operations and actions like tax deferment procedures, provision of income tax reliefs, etc.
Elizabeth Allie-Blango-Campbell is the Information officer attached to National Revenue Authority.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
