Monrovia – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has renewed the suspension of applicable import tariffs on a broad range of off-grid solar and renewable-energy products, a move the government says is intended to reduce the cost of clean energy, attract private-sector investment, and accelerate electricity access in underserved communities.
The measure is contained in Executive Order No. 168, signed by President Boakai on August 27, 2026, and takes effect immediately.
The Executive Order extends the tariff suspension for one year and covers a wide range of renewable-energy equipment, appliances, components, and accessories identified under specified Harmonized System (HS) codes in the order’s schedule.
The government says the policy is driven by the recognition that reliable and affordable electricity remains essential to Liberia’s economic development, rural transformation, private-sector growth, and improvement in living standards.
According to the Executive Order, the cost of importing renewable-energy equipment has remained a significant barrier to private investment and wider access to electricity, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
The renewed suspension is therefore intended to lower the cost of qualifying renewable-energy technologies for consumers while encouraging businesses to invest in the sector.
Among the products covered are solar panels, solar generators, solar home systems, solar batteries, solar inverters, charge controllers, solar cables, solar water pumps, solar grain mills, agricultural mills, solar dryers, solar radios and televisions, solar fans, solar refrigerators and freezers, cold rooms, solar streetlights, and solar-powered appliances.
The list also includes equipment designed to support productive economic activities, including solar sewing machines, solar blenders, solar egg incubators, agricultural motors, solar water heaters, and other energy-efficient equipment.
The order further extends to clean-cooking technologies, including electric pressure cookers, induction cooktops, electric coil cooktops, liquefied petroleum gas, improved biomass cookstoves, and solar cookers.
Transportation-related technologies are also included, with the order providing tariff relief for energy-efficient transportation engines, electric motorcycles, and solar photovoltaic charging stations for electric mobility.
The government expects the measure to encourage investment in renewable-energy businesses while making clean-energy technologies more accessible to households, businesses, institutions, and communities that remain underserved by the national electricity grid.
However, the tariff suspension does not amount to a blanket exemption from all import-related charges.
The Executive Order specifically states that eligible importers will remain responsible for payment of GST or VAT, the Customs User Fee, the ECOWAS Trade Levy where applicable, and any other charge, fee, levy, inspection requirement, or statutory obligation that has not been expressly suspended.
To benefit from the suspension, eligible businesses must be registered with the Liberia Business Registry and actively engaged in renewable energy or activities directly related to the deployment, distribution, installation, or productive use of qualifying renewable-energy products.
Where required by law or regulation, businesses must also be registered with the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency (RREA).
Importers must comply with applicable licensing, inspection, pre-shipment verification, conformity-assessment, customs declaration, and documentation requirements.
The Executive Order also requires imported products to meet applicable technical, quality, health, safety, and environmental standards prescribed or recognized by competent national authorities.
The government says the policy will be implemented through collaboration among the Liberia Revenue Authority, RREA, the national standards authority, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and other relevant institutions.
The LRA is responsible for administering the tariff suspension at ports of entry, while RREA is expected to maintain an updated register of eligible products and beneficiaries.
The government will also monitor the socioeconomic and environmental impact of the policy, including its effect on investment, consumer costs, electricity access, rural electrification, productive use of energy, and government revenue.
The Executive Order will remain in force for one year from August 27, 2026, unless it is modified, suspended, revoked, or otherwise affected by law.
For the Boakai administration, the renewed tariff suspension represents an effort to use fiscal policy to make renewable energy more affordable while encouraging private investment and expanding access to electricity beyond areas served by Liberia’s national grid.
