The rate
The standard rate in Sierra Leone is 15%. Some goods and services carry reduced or zero rates and others are exempt. The difference matters: zero-rated sales still let you reclaim the tax on your purchases, exempt sales do not.
Who must register
Sierra Leone charges GST, not VAT, at 15%. You must apply to register once your GST-exclusive turnover of taxable supplies passes NLe 500,000 in any twelve-month period, or passes one-third of that in any four-month period, or when there are reasonable grounds to expect you will pass it in the coming twelve months (Goods and Services Tax Act 2009, s.15; the NLe 500,000 figure was substituted by Finance Act 2024). Government entities, local councils and promoters of public entertainment register whatever their turnover, and from 1 January 2026 so does anyone making taxable supplies of digital services to consumers in Sierra Leone, with or without a physical presence here. Registration is voluntary below the threshold if you are carrying on a taxable activity. Apply within 30 days of the day you became liable to; the NRA notifies you within 21 days and the registration takes effect from the date you should have been registered, not the date you applied.
How to register
You need a TIN before you can register for GST (Revenue Administration Act 2017, First Schedule). Apply to the Commissioner-General on the prescribed form. If you are required to register, the application must be lodged within 30 days of the day you became required to (GST Act, section 15(6)). The NRA notifies you in writing within 21 days of receiving it (section 16(1)), and issues a GST registration certificate that shows the effective date and your TIN (section 16(7)).
Below the threshold you may still apply if you carry on a taxable activity. The Commissioner-General registers you if you make or will make taxable supplies, have a fixed place of business, are likely to keep proper records and file regular, reliable returns, and, if you have already started trading, have kept proper records and complied with other tax laws including customs (section 16(5)). Where registration is granted for the protection of revenue, the effective date is the date you ask for or a later date, but at least seven days after the notice (section 16(6)).
Do not leave it late. A person who fails to apply when required is treated as registered from the date they should have been, and the Commissioner-General can impose a penalty of between 10% and 100% of the GST payable from that date (sections 16(8) and 59). Display the original certificate prominently at your principal place of business and a certified copy at every other place (section 16(9)); failure carries a penalty of Le 5,000,000, with daily penalties after written notice (section 60).
Filing and paying
Registered and filed with National Revenue Authority (NRA).
GST is monthly. The tax period is a calendar month. File the return, with a schedule detailing your input and output GST claims, no later than 21 days after the end of the month (GST Act s.37(1), as replaced by Finance Act 2025). Pay no later than the end of the month following the tax period (s.38(1), as replaced by Finance Act 2026) — since 2026 the two dates are deliberately different. Returns go in through ITAS at itas.nra.gov.sl; since February 2025 ITAS pre-fills GST paid at customs on imports from ASYCUDA, and will not let you type import GST in by hand.
Penalties for getting it wrong
File a monthly GST return late without good cause and the penalty is NLe 5,000 for a large taxpayer, NLe 2,500 for a medium taxpayer and NLe 500 for a small taxpayer. Go more than 30 days past the due date and you are a non-filer: NLe 10,000, NLe 5,000 and NLe 1,000 respectively (GST Act s.37(5), as replaced by Finance Act 2025). Paying late is separate: for each month the GST stays unpaid you owe one-twelfth of the 364-day Treasury bill rate on it (s.58, as replaced by Finance Act 2022 s.20), and s.62(1) adds a penalty of up to Le 5,000,000 in old leones or an extra 15% of the tax, whichever is greater. Failing to use the electronic cash register or to issue a GST receipt is enforced by sealing the premises under s.50(1).