Government Reports NLe 304 Billion Spent on Rice in 2022

The Ministry of Finance Budget Transparency 2023- 2025 report has presented figures that,  the Government waivers on rice excluded GST (previously sales tax), by quarter three (Q3) of the Fiscal Year 2022 (Jan-Sept), recorded about Le 304 billion.

The tax expenditures which were mainly in form of duty waivers and import goods and services tax (GST) totalled at Nle 539 million (7.3 percent of the estimated domestic revenue for the year), with donor funded projects accounting for 12.2 percent of the total amount of tax exempted, international organizations 17.2 percent, and private investment concessions 41.7 percent in the period spanning from January to September 2022.

It is also noted that, the total duty and tax exemptions in Fiscal Year 2021 amounted (6.4 per cent of the total domestic revenue for the year).

In 2020, It was Le 509 million in 2020 (9.2 per cent of the total domestic revenue for the year) and Le 601 million in FY2019.

In connection with the gliding food prices in FY2008, this was impacting mostly developing countries, the Government of Sierra Leone made a policy to relieve the payments of import duty as well as other levies and charges on imports duty as well as other levies and changes on import rice.

The Government recognized that the food price increases were actually slowing down the ability of poor households to meet daily essential food needs, especially for rice and that there was need to cushion such impact on them.

In FY2010, Government waivers on rice excluded GST (previously sales tax), as it became allowable as an exempt supply in the GST Act of 2009.

The total losses arising individually from waivers of import duty and sales tax (currently as GST) have been soaring, except for 2019.

In FY2016, the total revenue losses from waivers on rice accounted for NLe158 million, and astronomically rose to NLe 344 million in FY2017 and slightly further to NLe 346 million in FY2018.

FY2020 recorded a sharp rise in revenue losses from waivers on rice amounting to NLe 526 million but it dropped drastically to NLe 371 million in 2021, with FY2022 (Jan-Sept) recording Le 304 billion.