MONROVIA, LIBERIA-The Government of Liberia, through the Commerce Ministry, has taken several steps aimed at addressing the current exchange rate situation.
Under the new regulations, owners of all businesses in the Country have been instructed to display the daily exchange rate posted by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).
Businesses are also required to display the full price list of commodities in both Liberian and United States Dollars, to give consumers purchasing options.
According to a release issued Wednesday, October 27, 2021, the Commerce Ministry has also warned against business owners coercing customers to purchase goods and services in either of the two currencies.
The release quotes the Ministry as saying doing so is a breach of the Administrative Regulation of 2019, which constitutes an offence punishable by law, with a fine.
Meanwhile, the Liberian Government has called on all business entities to take due notice of the prevailing CBL daily exchange rate in setting the prices of their goods.
At the same time, the Commerce Ministry has mandated the provision of invoices for all purchases above five-hundred Liberian Dollars, at medium and large businesses.
Such mandate, according to the Ministry, is intended to authenticate price stabilization in the Country, following recent appreciation of the Liberian Dollar.
It said the Ministry Inspectorate Division will closely monitor all businesses to ensure full compliance to the latest regulations, in collaboration with the Justice Ministry.
The release added that transactions using the Liberian Dollar, different from the officially published exchange rate by the CBL, are directly constraining the purchase of goods and services by ordinary citizens.
The Government asserted that the Administrative Regulation of 2019 mandates all businesses operating within the Republic of Liberia, to carry on all commercial transactions in both Liberian and US Dollars as legal tenders.
