VAT GST in Sierra Leone

General reference only. This Guide is general tax/accounting reference material. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

Who this applies to

Use this conditional research workpaper for a Sierra Leone GST-registered business, a person required to apply, an importer or a digital supplier. Establish supplier, customer, place of supply, registration, period and actual transaction first. The opened baseline defines taxable supplies separately from exempt supplies and normally defines a tax period as a month or another prescribed period. A monthly label does not override a prescribed exception. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, ss.2 and 14.

The NRA compilation expressly says unofficial, for internal purposes, through Finance Act 2016. Specific later Acts were opened and read for the amendments below; neither that sequence nor a 2026 intake label proves every later instrument or operative filing procedure. Preserve the dated source rules and stop at an unresolved point affecting the answer. Independent source review of this rewrite is pending.

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Source rule and conditions	Official source
Ordinary taxable supply/import	15% on GST-exclusive value unless the actual supply/import is zero-rated; an exempt supply is a different classification	NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, ss.9-14
First Schedule zero rate	0% for a qualifying listed supply; the opened schedule lists goods exports and ship/aircraft stores leaving SL. Export definition requires external delivery/consignment evidence; do not zero-rate every service sold to a foreign customer	NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.2 and First Schedule
Ordinary registration threshold	The 2024 Act substitutes Le 500,000 in s.15(2). Apply the statutory turnover tests/exclusions below, rather than every gross receipt or a universal at-least test	FA2024 s.13; NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.15
Digital-supply compulsory registration	Taxable digital services to consumers in Sierra Leone, whether or not supplier has physical presence; inserted in the threshold-independent s.15(4)	FA2026 ss.17-26, s.18
Exempt categories	Actual Second Schedule entry and description, not a blanket exemption for all food, health or financial activity;2023 replaced the whole schedule and 2024/2026 amend it	FA2023 s.8; FA2026 ss.17-26, s.25

For example, the 2023 schedule describes raw rice even if stripped/polished; education requires the specified institution registration/licensing and Gazette publication; medical/pharmaceutical categories retain their descriptions and approved-drug conditions. Financial-services item 10 excludes fees and similar intermediation/non-intermediation charges, including the listed advice and safekeeping services. Do not use the old broad categories without these conditions. FA2023 s.8, Second Schedule 2,6,7,10.

The 2026 water entry includes sachet water but excludes bottled/distilled water and industrial, commercial and high-end domestic use. Its renewable/solar and clean-cooking entries sit in Second Schedule while describing some goods as zero-rated under HS terminology; the earlier First Schedule also contains a mini-grid entry. Classification/numbering interaction remains held. Raw fish's stated HS1604.1 and processed/packaged exclusion also require actual product classification; do not silently correct the printed code or treat every fish product as exempt. FA2026 ss.17-26, s.25; FA2022 ss.19-20, s.22.

The base

1. Test registration correctly. The opened s.15 tests threshold excess over 12 or fewer months, excess over one-third of the threshold in four months, and reasonable expected excess over the following twelve months. Remove the specified non-taxable, capital-asset, business-sale and cessation supplies; include relevant s.24 deemed supplies and any related-person value the Commissioner requires under the stated conditions. Government/public-entertainment categories have compulsory rules independent of threshold; the 2026 digital addition is another distinct case. A person carrying on intended taxable activity can apply voluntarily under s.15(5). NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.15; FA2026 ss.17-26, s.18.
2. Assign the tax point and value. Ordinary s.19 takes the earliest invoice, consideration, goods delivery/availability or service performance. Periodic supplies, hire purchase and registration changes have separate rules. GST-exclusive price uses s.21; for a genuinely GST-inclusive standard-rated price the tax fraction is 15/115. Special non-money, private-use, related-party and other valuations must not be replaced with that simple price rule. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, ss.19-21.
3. Keep imports separate. Goods import timing follows entry under customs law or physical entry in the other case. Import value combines customs value, insurance/freight and incorporated services to the extent not already included, plus relevant duties/charges other than GST. Re-imports after repair and specific regulations have their own conditions. Imported services follow the separate cross-border test below. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, ss.25-26.
4. Calculate allowed input, not all input paid. Section 28 blocks non-business/private/domestic expenses and the specified vehicle, entertainment, club, handset and accommodation categories, subject to their actual business exceptions. Under s.29 directly taxable inputs are fully attributed, directly non-taxable inputs receive no credit, and genuinely shared residual input uses taxable supplies divided by all relevant supplies. The denominator excludes supplies through activities outside SL. The statutory greater-than 95% and less-than 5% branches and any prescribed alternative method require separate testing; the endpoints are not rewritten as inclusive thresholds. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, ss.28-29.
5. Check documents and changes of use. Missing GST invoice/customs/debit-credit documentation delays a claim to the first qualifying later period; the opened s.29(5) has the specified six-month cutoff. Acquisition intention is adjusted for actual use or changed intention before the return due date. Pre-registration credit is not automatic: written application within six months, qualifying acquisitions in the preceding three months, goods on hand, source-tax/payment evidence, eligibility and use reductions all matter. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.29(5)-(11).
6. Check the new digital restriction. The 2026 inserted s.28(2)(h) bars input where the acquisition/expense is incurred supplying digital service by a person without physical presence or registered office in SL. Preserve that supplier/acquisition direction; do not call it a universal ban for every customer's digital purchase. Its interaction with registration, representatives and collection still needs the full operative method. FA2026 ss.17-26, s.20.
7. Reconcile net GST. Section 27 is accountable output less legally allowed input. Keep turnover, tax-point, classification, input attribution, supporting documents and output/input schedules linked to the accounting ledger. A credit is not evidence that a refund is approved. Relief for Third Schedule persons requires its own status and 2026 certificate, which the Commissioner withholds where there is cause to believe abuse. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.27; FA2026 ss.17-26, s.19.

Deadlines and filing

Step	Opened source rule	Official source
Required registration application	Prescribed form within 30 days of the requirement under baseline s.15(6); special compulsory categories have their own timing	NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.15(4)-(6)
GST return and input/output schedule	Not later than 21 days following the tax period, under the 2025 replacement s.37(1)	FA2025 s.13, s.13(a)
Net GST payment	Not later than the end of the following month, under the 2026 replacement s.38(1); distinct from the return clock	FA2026 ss.17-26, s.22
ECR fault	Report to the Commissioner within 24 hours; a temporary alternative receipting system requires written authorization	FA2021 s.31, s.31

Prepare identity/TIN and tax period; reconcile classified sales and accountable output; test input restrictions, attribution and documents; prepare input/output and deduction schedules; reconcile the return to the ledger; then retain actual accepted submission, acknowledgement and payment reference. The 2020 schedule text identifies supplier name/TIN/address, description, values, GST and supplier aggregates. These are source-backed preparation fields, not authenticated current portal boxes. FA2020 s.35, s.35; FA2025 s.13, s.13.

The 2020 Act prescribed daily ECR data and ITAS filing/payment, but the 2022 insertion of a new s.37(4) creates an unresolved numbering interaction with that older clause. The 2021 Act requires original ECR/NRA automated receipts or invoices whether requested or not, reports of faults and written alternatives;2026 adds replacement cost as determined and gazetted by the Commissioner. No equipment price, substitute paper permission or current login/upload/confirmation sequence is invented. FA2020 s.35; FA2022 ss.19-20, s.19; FA2021 s.31; FA2026 ss.17-26, s.21.

Current GST form and accepted filing are not authenticated. The NRA's current forms page shows three DTD links, none labelled GST; the older official GST_Return.pdf path returned 404. A search listing of an old form is not a downloaded/read current return. The paper boxes, current portal, prescribed formats, non-working-day adjustments and successful acknowledgement/payment remain held. NRA forms.

Penalties and interest

The 2025 replacement s.37(5) sets the monthly figures below. Classify the taxpayer using the source-backed class evidence held by the company Guide. The late-filer branch expressly requires absence of good cause. FA2025 s.13, s.13(b).

Monthly GST return category	Late filing without good cause	Non-filing	Official source
Large	NLe 5,000	NLe 10,000	FA2025 s.13, s.13(b)
Medium	NLe 2,500	NLe 5,000	FA2025 s.13, s.13(b)
Small	NLe 500	NLe 1,000	FA2025 s.13, s.13(b)

The 2022 inserted s.37(4) distinguishes filing within 30 days after the due date from filing after 30 days. Its older subsection(6) non-filer text was not expressly removed in the opened 2025 replacement of subsection(5); their consolidation/priority must be resolved before issuing a penalty demand, rather than stacking both. FA2022 ss.19-20, s.19; FA2025 s.13, s.13(b).

For late GST payment, the 2022 replacement s.58 describes a penalty equal to one-twelfth of the 364-day Treasury bill rate for each month outstanding until payment. Establish the applicable published rate and later law before computing it; this is not a fixed monthly percentage or an assumed compounded charge. Full ECR/invoice, understatement, recovery/appeal and wider sanction interaction remain unclosed. FA2022 ss.19-20, s.20.

Cross-border points

The historical s.24 reverse charge is conditional: non-resident services otherwise than through a resident agent, not already taxable but taxable if supplied by a resident registered person, not zero-rated, and only to the extent of specified exempt/private/domestic/entertainment uses. It is not a blanket 15% charge on all services imported for local use. Its adjustment and same-person foreign/SL activities rules need their own facts. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, s.24.

Resident-agent liability under s.14(5) has the registered-resident-principal exception in s.14(6), and s.30 assigns qualifying input to the agent. The 2026 digital supplier without physical presence/registered office must appoint a present/registered representative by written notice. Digital registration, marketplace scope, collection and the old reverse charge are distinct tests; their full operational interaction is held. NRA unofficial 2016 compilation, ss.14,30; FA2026 ss.17-26, ss.17-18,24.

The 2026 Act repeals professional-service direct-payment s.40A; do not continue that 2021 route automatically. For Third Schedule international agencies/entities/persons, the opened 2026 item 3 requires a government agreement duly ratified by Parliament and specifically granting goods/services tax relief; a foreign address or NGO name alone is insufficient. FA2026 ss.17-26, ss.23,26.

Two worked examples that recompute

Assume the identified ordinary rules are verified applicable to a registered business, all sales are standard-rated and NLe 23,000 is an evidenced GST-inclusive price. Exclusive sales are 20,000 and output is 3,000. Actual eligible input GST is 1,200; another 300 is independently classified as blocked and is excluded. Net GST is 1,800. Claiming all 1,500 paid would wrongly reduce payment to 1,500. The eligibility inputs are established facts, not permission to claim every invoice.

name: Inclusive sales and legally eligible input
inputs:
  inclusive_sales: 23000
  gst_rate: 15
  eligible_input: 1200
  blocked_input: 300
steps:
  - output_tax: inclusive_sales*gst_rate/(100+gst_rate)
  - exclusive_sales: inclusive_sales-output_tax
  - net_gst: output_tax-eligible_input
  - wrong_net_if_blocked_claimed: output_tax-eligible_input-blocked_input
  - excess_credit: net_gst-wrong_net_if_blocked_claimed
expected:
  output_tax: 3000
  exclusive_sales: 20000
  net_gst: 1800
  wrong_net_if_blocked_claimed: 1500
  excess_credit: 300

For mixed operations assume NLe 60,000 taxable supplies and 40,000 non-taxable supplies, with no excluded denominator item, special prescribed method or blocked input. Shared input GST is 1,000; another 400 relates wholly to taxable supplies and 100 wholly to non-taxable supplies. The 60% shared ratio gives 600, plus 400 directly attributed credit, total 1,000. Applying 60% indiscriminately to all 1,500 gives 900. With output 9,000, correct net GST is 8,000 rather than 8,100. The decision is which input belongs in each statutory category, not choosing the larger credit. The ratio is between the separate 5%/95% branches.

name: Direct attribution before shared-input fraction
inputs:
  taxable_supplies: 60000
  non_taxable_supplies: 40000
  shared_input: 1000
  direct_taxable_input: 400
  direct_non_taxable_input: 100
  gst_rate: 15
steps:
  - ratio: taxable_supplies/(taxable_supplies+non_taxable_supplies)
  - shared_credit: shared_input*ratio
  - correct_credit: direct_taxable_input+shared_credit
  - wrong_credit_all_inputs_prorated: (shared_input+direct_taxable_input+direct_non_taxable_input)*ratio
  - output_tax: taxable_supplies*gst_rate/100
  - net_gst: output_tax-correct_credit
  - wrong_net: output_tax-wrong_credit_all_inputs_prorated
expected:
  ratio: 0.6
  shared_credit: 600
  correct_credit: 1000
  wrong_credit_all_inputs_prorated: 900
  output_tax: 9000
  net_gst: 8000
  wrong_net: 8100

Ask the client first

• What is the registration/TIN, turnover history/forecast, legal supplier and actual SL/customer location?
• Which goods/services, tariff classifications, contracts, invoices, payments and tax points support each supply?
• Which inputs are directly taxable, directly non-taxable, shared or blocked, with what documents and use changes?
• Is relief, export, digital/non-resident supply, an agent or a professional-service collection arrangement involved?
• What are the current return, notices, taxpayer class, ECR instructions, submission acknowledgement and payment evidence?

Sources

Primary source and actual reading scope	Official URL	Read on
NRA unofficial GST compilation through 2016: cover and selected ss.2,9-15,19-21,24-30,37-38 and First Schedule; cited passages and neighbours, not all 132 pages. Compilation limitation retained.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/Compilation_GST_Act_2009_Consolidated_to_include_amendments_and_repeals_up_to_2016_7ce053284a.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2020 ss.34-35 invoice/schedule/ITAS text, scanned physical 10-12; s.35 section number visually checked, OCR misreads it as 38.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/Finance_Act_2020_d8deee2366.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2021 s.31 ECR documentation/fault/alternative rules, physical 12-13/printed 23-24; adjacent 40A passage read.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/Finance_Act_2021_be1efb0bcc.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2022 ss.19-22 GST classification, penalty, TIN and mini-grid zero-rate amendments; physical 10/printed 11 for s.19 and physical 9/printed 12 for ss.20-23, with neighbours.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/The_Finance_Act_2022_e416cfed24.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2023 ss.7-8: digital and complete replacement Second Schedule entry text, physical 7-10/printed 12-19 read; not allother Acts.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/The_Finance_Act_2023_8629ff7803.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2024 s.13 registration-threshold amendment, physical 10/printed 19 andadjacent text.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/The_Finance_Act_2024_0d6d83e684.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2025 ss.12-13 relief/return/sanction text, physical 10/printed 10 for s.12 and physical 11/printed 11 for s.13 read.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/The_Finance_Act_2025_beb680faed.pdf	2026-11-01
Finance Act 2026 ss.1,17-26: commencement and GST amendments, selected physical 2,10-14/printed 10-14; actual half-page extracts read, not unrelated fee tables.	https://webtestcms.nra.gov.sl/uploads/The_Finance_Act_2026_121df05d9b.pdf	2026-11-01
NRA tax-law catalogue read in ordinary browser after web-fetch 502; current forms catalogue read, no GST entry; old official return URL404. Failed form is not represented as read.	https://nra.gov.sl/tax-laws ; https://nra.gov.sl/forms	2026-11-01

Not yet confirmed: complete operative 2026 amendment/commencement/regulation chain and authoritative current consolidation; exact 2010 commencement history and absence of a separate sales tax; detailed place/special tax-point/valuation and deduction exceptions; current registration/e-filing/ECR rollout instruments and costs; authentic current GST return boxes, ITAS input/upload/acknowledgement/payment-reference steps and non-working-day adjustments;2020/2022 s.37 numbering and 2022 subsection 6 versus 2025 non-filer replacement interaction; actual applicable Treasury bill rate and penalty/procedure priority; full refund/adjustment/recovery/appeal implementation; Second/First Schedule mini-grid,2026 HS zero-rate language, item numbering and raw-fish tariff anomalies; exact current exemption/product conditions and specialist mining/customs rules. The former 100,000 threshold and combined last-working-day deadline are not carried as current rules. No filing, operative-law completeness or accountant attestation is claimed. Independent GST review pending; VAT remains partial.