The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Tuesday (Jul 8) commenced a weeklong exercise to revise and update the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of its Customs Department. The move is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, productivity, and alignment with the Authority’s ongoing digital transformation.
The exercise, led by the Enterprise Design, Quality Assurance & Results Division (EDQARD), seeks to ensure that all Customs SOPs reflect current realities, including advancements in technology and the automation of core business processes. To date, at least six LRA Customs Business Offices have been automated, and a digital platform for processing Duty-Free applications has been developed.
The LRA has 109 SOPs in total, with 30 of them belonging to the Customs Department. These 30 Customs SOPs are now under review to match the Authority’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
According to Mr. Thomas Jallah, Manager for Enterprise Design, Quality Assurance, and Results at EDQARD, SOPs play a crucial role in institutional efficiency by clarifying responsibilities, outlining required tools, and specifying expected outcomes—thereby fostering public and taxpayer confidence.
“These SOPs provide step-by-step instructions to ensure consistency and quality in how tasks and processes are performed, particularly within the Customs Department,” he said. In a revenue-generating entity like the LRA, Jallah furthered that “SOPs are essential for promoting efficiency, transparency, accountability, and compliance, while eliminating confusion and operational conflicts.”
Representatives from several other departments—including Legal, Internal Audit, Risk Management, and the Commissioner General’s Office—are also contributing to the process to ensure strong checks and balances and adherence to international best practices.
Assistant Commissioner for Customs Policy and Technical Operations, Attorney William L. Buku, stressed the importance of ownership and responsiveness to change. He urged customs officers, as process owners, to take full responsibility for shaping the tools they will use.
“This is about you,” Buku told the participants. “You are drafting your own instruments—the very tools you will use in line with the law. Be practical and sincere. What you produce here will be approved and will become the yardstick and walking stick for your daily operations. You own this process.”
Also speaking during the opening session, the Officer-in-Charge of the Internal Audit Department, Mr. Rufus Mahn, clarified that while his department is not a process owner, its role is to guide the process from a management and compliance standpoint.
“We are here to help strengthen these SOPs by ensuring checks and balances, identifying gaps, and offering recommendations to improve efficiency in the best interest of the LRA,” he noted.
Many of the existing SOPs have become outdated due to system changes over the years—for instance, the transition from SIGTAS to the more modern LITAS platform. This initiative follows a similar review in June, during which 13 SOPs of the Domestic Tax Department were updated to align with present-day operations.
SOPs are not merely bureaucratic instruments—they are foundational to professionalism, efficiency, and good governance. In institutions like the LRA, they ensure that revenue is collected, managed, and reported in a manner that is transparent, accountable, and effective—ultimately contributing to national development.
Among the Customs SOPs currently under review are the Single Administrative Document (SAD) process, Conducting General Cargo Examinations, Detention and Seizure of Forfeited Goods, Collection of Customs Service Fees, Control and Reporting of Craft and Cargoes, Processing of Travelers and Their Baggage, Customs Operations at Rural Sea Ports, Cargo Handling at Airports, Clearance Process at the RIA Customs Business Office, and Clearing Procedures at the LPRC Customs Collectorate.
