Monrovia—President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has signed and issued Govt Order No. 151, introducing complete measures to limit the export of unprocessed rubber and promote native worth addition.
By: Yawah Y. Jaivey
In response to a launch from the Govt Mansion, the brand new order goals to revitalize Liberia’s rubber sector and foster inclusive financial progress.
“The Govt Order, efficient instantly, seeks to remodel Liberia’s rubber trade from an extractive, raw-material export economic system right into a value-added, job-creating sector that helps GDP progress, employment, and export earnings,” the assertion stated.
The discharge additional defined that Liberia has traditionally exported rubber in its uncooked kind, thereby lacking alternatives for home manufacturing, job creation, and elevated income.
President Boakai emphasised that this transfer signifies a pivotal second for the nation’s industrialization efforts.
“This Govt Order is a turning level. We’re laying the inspiration for industrialization, worth addition, and long-term financial transformation,” he said.
The assertion named key provisions of the order, together with the restrictions on the export of unprocessed rubber—akin to pure latex, cup lump, bark scrap, and floor scrap—listed below Schedule A. Processed rubber, together with Technically Specified Rubber (TSR), is exempt from these restrictions.
Exporters, in keeping with new government order, at the moment are required to adjust to new fiscal obligations, together with a 4% presumptive tax, Rubber Growth Fund Included (RDFI) charges, and a USD $150 surcharge per metric ton. They have to additionally current official tax and charge receipts, a sound tax clearance, and procure approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, adopted by an Export Allow Declaration (EPD) issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Business, the Govt Order states.
Moreover, the order mandates the speedy remittance of an Advance Earnings Tax—4% for small taxpayers and a pair of% for medium to giant taxpayers—post-export.
On the similar time, the brand new government order warned that violators who falsify paperwork or evade the provisions face extreme penalties, together with a USD $50,000 high-quality for the primary offense—and repeat offenders danger further sanctions and the revocation of their export privileges.
The Govt Mansion indicated that, as a part of the implementation of Govt Order 151, the Ministry of Agriculture will oversee enforcement in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Growth Planning, the Ministry of Commerce and Business, the Liberia Income Authority, and RDFI.
In the meantime, the assertion introduced that joint administrative tips will likely be issued to facilitate the sleek implementation of Govt Order 151.
