By Sallieu S. Kanu
Freetown — In a bold move to boost domestic revenue collection, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, led a high-level delegation on Monday, August 11, 2025, to conduct unannounced inspections of beverage and water production facilities across the Western Area. The exercise aimed to assess compliance with the Digital Excise Tax Stamp system introduced in 2024.
The delegation included deputy ministers, board members, the Chair of the National Revenue Authority (NRA), and senior officials from both the Ministry of Finance and the NRA.
The Digital Excise Tax Stamp initiative was launched in accordance with Section 37 of the Finance Act 2019. It mandates that excise stamps, either in paper form or digital codes, be affixed to all excisable goods, including tobacco, wine, spirits, and beer, whether locally produced or imported.
The reform was designed to combat counterfeit and substandard goods, ensure fair competition among producers and importers, and Improve excise tax revenue by curbing smuggling and fraud.
However, despite a year of implementation, the system has not delivered its full potential. In his recent FY 2025 Supplementary Budget speech, Minister Bangura revealed a domestic revenue shortfall of nearly NLe1.0 billion for the year, prompting urgent action.
The ministerial team visited several production sites, including: GVR Bottlers, Kings Beverages, Sierra Fruits, Victory Enterprises, and Shankadas Group.
While some facilities had installed the automated SICPA stamping system, others relied on manual sticker application. The inspections revealed widespread non-compliance, with some manufacturers allegedly attempting to evade tax obligations.
In response to these findings, the team recommended immediate enforcement actions. Specifically, they advised the NRA to shut down the operations of Shankadas Group at Ferry Junction and Victory Enterprises at Wellington for failing to comply with excise stamp regulations.
The Ministry of Finance has pledged to intensify monitoring and enforcement efforts. Future phases of the exercise will focus on reconciling data from SICPA and N-SOFT technologies with taxpayer submissions to improve the accuracy of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and excise revenue assessments.
Minister Bangura emphasized that the government remains committed to strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation and ensuring accountability across all sectors.