By Socrates Smythe Saywon
MONROVIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has signed Executive Order No. 151, effectively banning the export of raw rubber from Liberia in a bold move aimed at revitalizing the country’s rubber sector through domestic processing and value addition. The Executive Order, which took immediate effect upon signing, seeks to shift Liberia’s longstanding reliance on unprocessed rubber exports toward a more industrialized, job-creating economy.
The order places a strict restriction on the export of unprocessed rubber, including natural latex, cup lumps, bark scrap, and ground scrap, unless it has undergone domestic processing. Technically Specified Rubber (TSR), a form of processed rubber, is the only exemption from the ban.
President Boakai stated that the continuous export of raw rubber deprives Liberia of industrial growth, manufacturing jobs, and vital tax revenue. The new regulation mandates that exporters engage in value-added activities inside the country before their rubber products can leave Liberian shores.
Under the Executive Order, exporters must meet several compliance requirements. These include the withholding of a 4% presumptive tax based on the official monthly purchase price set by the Liberia National Rubber Pricing Committee (LNRPC), along with a variable sector development fee payable to the Rubber Development Fund Incorporated (RDFI). A valid tax clearance certificate is now mandatory for all exports.
Exporters of unprocessed rubber must also pay a surcharge of $150 USD per metric ton, submit a minimum shipment volume of 20 metric tons per container, and present all payment receipts to the Ministry of Agriculture for verification. Only after meeting these conditions can the exporter receive authorization from the Ministry of Agriculture and a final Export Permit Declaration (EPD) from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Additionally, the export price must exceed the official monthly purchase rate once insurance, freight, and profit are included. Following shipment, exporters are required to pay an Advance Income Tax of either 4% (for small taxpayers) or 2% (for medium and large taxpayers) based on the declared value on the EPD. Proof of this post-export tax payment must be submitted before any subsequent export approval is granted.
Violators of the Executive Order will face stiff penalties. Any entity found to have falsified records or evaded tax obligations will be fined $50,000 USD for a first offense, with repeat violations potentially leading to the revocation of export privileges and other legal actions.
The Ministry of Agriculture will oversee implementation of the order in collaboration with the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning, Commerce and Industry, the Liberia Revenue Authority, and the RDFI. These institutions are responsible for issuing enforcement guidelines and publishing a unified valuation schedule for the rubber sector.
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