Within the framework of the WCO Capacity Building Programs for the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), the WCO delivered a national workshop on Time Release Study (TRS) to support the national efforts of the Customs Administration of Liberia in moving forward with its TRS project. The workshop was organized from the 8th to 9th July 2020, virtually, as part of the preparation for the Liberia TRS Working Group (WG) to start drafting the TRS report. The virtual workshop was conducted using the WEBEX platform.

During the discussions, the WCO’s experts were informed of the state of play regarding the implementation of the TRS in Liberia, including actions foreseen to be carried out, such as familiarization of the WCO TRS Software, preliminary analysis using sample TRS data, modes and procedures to be included in the national study, and the initial tentative period for data collection. Furthermore, the experts were also briefed on current issues impacting the national TRS project in the current context of the COVID -19 pandemic.

The workshop provided the opportunity for the experts, Liberia Customs officials and one official representing a national terminal to analyze some of the current issues impacting the TRS project in Liberia and to design a solution to address the challenges. At the end of the workshop, a participant representing the national Customs Administration of Liberia expressed to the WCO expert that they will make every effort to ensure that the TRS project is finished before the end of 2020.

It is important to highlight that in spite of the existing uncertainty globally, the Customs Administration of Liberia is actively engaging with trade stakeholders to carry out a TRS in Liberia. The Administration is planning to make maximum use of technology to achieve many of the goals defined within the context of its national TRS project.