Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Develop appropriate formal legal and/or administrative measures (e.g., rules, standard operating procedures, and/or guidelines) to require border authorities to carry out regular consultations with their stakeholders.
2. Develop and publish procedures to advise private sector stakeholders how they can initiate and participate effectively in consultative processes.
3. Train border authorities and private sector on how to carry out an effective consultation.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Assess and clarify, as required, legislation to ensure border authorities are obligated to publish the rules, procedures and other relevant information described by TFA Article 1.1.
2. Assess information needs, particular of local SMEs, and identify appropriate and effective forms of communication for dissemination of types of information described by the TFA measure in Liberia’s environment (e.g., radio, Internet, newspaper, billboard, etc.).
3. Define responsibilities and establish appropriate administrative and operational measures within each of the designated border authorities to ensure the information specified in the TFA measure is prepared, published, and promptly updated (e.g., designate information officers; develop SOP/working procedures, etc.).
4. Establish necessary formal measures to ensure all border authorities promptly provide new or changed administrative regulations to LiberLII for Internet publication.
5. Assess the feasibility of the establishment of a single national trade portal for the publication of all border authorities’ requirements and information and required forms for import, export, and transit of goods.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Develop appropriate legal or policy measures, guidelines, or standards to ensure all border authorities publish Internet guides of their procedures, required forms, and other trade information with content and in a manner that is relevant, practical, and easily accessible to their respective stakeholders.
2. Define responsibilities and establish procedures within each of the designated border authorities to compile, prepare, publish, and update the required guides, forms, and other information, including coordination of information with other authorities.
3. Designate through appropriate legal or policy measure the National Trade Faciliation Forum or other appropriate entity to coordinate and oversee implementation by border authorities of the foregoing publication obligations.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Assess and determine an appropriate model or organizational structure for the national trade enquiry point.
2. Enact appropriate legal, policy, and administrative measures to implement the trade enquiry point, such as defining roles and responsibilities, modes of cooperation and information exchange among participating authorities, service-level agreements, and so forth.
3. Assess needs and develop a plan to implement an enquiry point.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Develop and publish regulations and operational instructions or SOPs implementing the draft Customs Code provision on binding decisions including the form and content of applications for decisions; period of validity of decisions; and indicative time period(s) for processing applications.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Develop and publish rules and instructions/SOPs to implement the administrative protest provisions of the draft Customs Code, when enacted.
2. Assess the efficacy of the administrative tribunals established under law to hear administrative appeals (the Board of Tax Appeals; the Tribunal established under the Foreign Trade law) to determine improvements and needs (e.g., procedures, resources, capacity, etc).
3. Develop and publish guidelines or instructions for the benefit of traders on administrative appeal procedures (as required by Article 1.1 of the TFA – see discussion above).
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Conduct a needs assessment and feasibility study to determine benefits, appropriate operational model (such as scope of the system, participants and management structure, regional options), IT or other communication system requirements, and costs for the implementation of a rapid alert system for protection of human, plant and/or animal health.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Under authority of the draft Customs Code, Customs to establish the necessary operational/technical (e.g., ASYCUDA) procedures to ensure that Quarantine and Health authorities are alerted when goods subject to SPS controls arrive and that inspections of such goods are coordinated with all border authorities.
2. Incorporate detention notification requirements in Customs clearance processing SOPs, if not already included.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. In connection with Liberia’s commitment to conform its legislation and practices to the WTO SPS Agreement generally, assess Quarantine and MoCI legislation and/or procedures and, as necessary, enact appropriate formal measures to provide importers with the right to a second test (including procedures for the resolution of discrepancies between the first and second tests).
2. Assess the need and feasibility for accreditation of third-party laboratories to test and certify compliance with Liberia SPS standards and to permit retesting by such accredited bodies.
Suggested Reform Actions. 1. Assess and clarify/develop legislation to require- • publication of new or changed fees and charges imposed by border authorities (see Article 1.1), • delayed effective date of new or changed fees (see Article 2.1), and • periodic reviews of fees and charges (see Article 10.1), with a view to reducing their number and diversity.
2. Review and rationalize as necessary current fee structures (particularly those fees where rate is calculated on a per unit basis) to reduce excessive charges and more closely align fee amounts to actual costs.
