Liberia: LRA Boss Bows to House’s Pressure

The Leadership of the Honorable House of Representatives on Monday, March 25, held what observers have described as a constructive conversation with the Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) James Dorbor Jallah, and his legal counsel, Cllr. Negbalee Warner Monday, March 25, on Capitol Hill.

The peaceful conference came days after members of the House threatened to incarcerate Jallah if he refused to sign duty-free for 2 cars each for them. They invited him to appear before them yesterday to answer questions regarding their requests for duty-free at the Port.

Each year, members of the House of Representatives import two cars for free without paying a cent to the Government’s revenue. But unconfirmed reports indicated that Jallah was reneging on doing so—as he was allegedly contemplating scrapping the duty-free privileges to lawmakers.

However, at the end of Monday’s discussion, the Commissioner General agreed with the Minister of Justice that the LRA had misinterpreted the law and apologized for disallowing the duty-free privileges of lawmakers under the Revenue Code of 2000. 

The Commissioner General then committed to following the law that has granted duty-free privileges to lawmakers since the law was passed. 

Duty-free privileges allow lawmakers to be able to respond to the charitable needs of their various constituents while they serve and will remain in place. 

The Legislature has already capped duty-free privileges to ensure that this vital allowance under the law isn’t abused and that LRA collects the maximum amount of taxes possible.

The House of Representatives is committed to promoting transparency and accountability at all levels and will do absolutely nothing to stop the collection of lawful revenues for Liberia.

The Revenue Code of Liberia Act of 2000, which was amended in 2016, reserved the portion of Section 1708 granting lawmakers duty-free privileges for two vehicles annually.

Meanwhile, many see it as unfair that ordinary Liberians are made to pay USD 1500 or more to free their car(s) at the Free Port of Monrovia, while Lawmakers who make huge sums in salaries and allowances through Liberian tax players’ money have been importing their vehicles duty-free.