Foreign Travel Tax

This tax was imposed by The Foreign Travel (Ticket) Tax Act, 1975 and was amended by Act no 4 of 2004. It is calculated at the rate of 10% of the normal price of the return ticket to Sierra Leone.

It is payable by every person departing from Sierra Leone by ship, aircraft or other means of transport. It shall be paid on or before the date of departure.Foreign Travel Ticket Tax is collected by the person issuing the ticket and is payable no later than 15 days after the end of every month.

The tax is payable irrespective of whether such ticket is purchased, obtained, issued or received in Sierra Leone.

The person issuing the ticket shall provide the ticket holder with a written statement in duplicate certifying that the tax has been paid. A copy of this statement must be handed to the owner’s agent before the traveler is allowed to board the ship, aircraft etc.

Some exemptions from the tax were granted under Section 11 of the Act but these exemptions were repealed with effect from 26 July 2001 by Act no 4 of 2004.

The Minister of Finance may exempt persons by Order published in the Gazette.

A penalty of 15% per month is chargeable where a person collects the tax and fails to pay it to the NRA on time.

Where a person does not collect the tax from the traveler, then he does not have to pay any tax or penalty but he can be prosecuted and on conviction be liable to a fine of up to Le 500 or to imprisonment for up to 1 year. Persistent failures to collect tax by owners of aircraft or ships may lead to the suspension of their operating licenses.