ECOWAS is Strengthening the Capacity of National Bodies Responsible for
Cross-Border Trade and National Tax Administration in Sierra Leone

The ECOWAS Commission’s Directorate of Customs Union and Taxation undertook a mission from 9 to 13 March 2026 to the Republic of Sierra Leone with a view to strengthening the capacity of the various national bodies responsible for the cross-border movement of goods and national tax administration to implement electronic goods declaration systems (ETLS) effectively.

Speaking at the opening of the engagements in Freetown on behalf of the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs & Agriculture, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Sierra Leone, Ambassador John AZUMAH, represented by the Political Adviser, encouraged participants to take advantage of these capacity-building sessions to ensure that Sierra Leone benefits from the free movement of goods programme of the Community, whilst reiterating the availability of the Commission to support the country.

On the movement of Community goods under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), members of the National Committee for Community Origin Recognition (NCCOR) of Sierra Leone as well as staff of the National Revenue Authority, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders were trained on product approval processes and the certification of origin for the purposes of obtaining Community tariff preferences.

In preparation for the imminent deployment of the Community transit solution, SIGMAT in Sierra Leone, the human resource and material capacity were assessed and the staff of the Customs Administration under the National Revenue Authority were also taken through the Community transit procedure to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to manage the automated transit system.

The mission further engaged the authorities of the National Revenue Authority and other stakeholders on domestic tax administration support to Sierra Leone.

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