By Adama Conteh
The National Revenue Authority (NRA) announced that the fuel marking program would go live on March 1st, 2024. This statement was made during a public notice by the NRA on Wednesday, February 28th, 2024.
NRA disclosed this information in a press release to inform the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and the general public that the government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) would introduce its flagship fuel marking program for all licensed petroleum products across the country on March 1st, 2024.
The release further stated that the government, through the Ministry of Finance, the National Revenue Authority (NRA), and the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA), considered this deployment as a strategic objective to intensify its efforts to enhance domestic revenue mobilization.
The release continued that the fuel marking program is a robust molecular marking solution for hydrocarbons that provides traceability and fraud detection functionalities throughout the democratic supply chain for petroleum products.
It further revealed that the Fuel Integrity System (FIS) would serve as an effective tool against illicit activities such as smuggling, under-declaration, diversion, dumping, adulteration, and dilution within the fuel market. It explained that it is meant to ensure the integrity of the petroleum product supply chain across Sierra Leone.
The announcement followed a previous NRA public notice explaining the launch on February 1st, 2024, of the government’s Product Training System (PTS), a secured marking and traceability system for excisable products such as tobacco, wine, spirits, and other alcoholic beverages.
The release stated that the implementation of these public revenue integrity platforms is an essential component of the Government’s Medium-Term Revenue Strategy for 2023-2027.
It also revealed that similar FIS programs implemented in several countries have been recognized as effective tax administration and revenue assurance measures that continue to be widely recommended by multilateral development agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the improvement of domestic revenue to combat illicit trade across borders and to also reduce tax evasion.
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