Cameroon’s Directorate General of Customs has collected 1.8 billion FCFA (about 2.7 million euros) in duties and taxes on imported phones, tablets and digital terminals between April and early September 2026, according to official figures. Before the new collection mechanism took effect, phone clearance contributed barely 100 million FCFA per month to state coffers.
The reform has drawn mixed reactions from importers, while customs officials insist the system serves fiscal, security and economic goals.
Avenue Kennedy traders face new realities
Avenue Kennedy in Yaoundé, the main hub for imported mobile phones in Cameroon, is buzzing with activity. Seydou, a second-hand phone importer, says he has run into problems with the new declaration and clearance process. “We import used phones that sell here for between 20,000 and 25,000 CFA francs,” he explains. “They are cleared at the airport, but customs officers do not record their serial numbers. When we sell them to customers, they come back saying they keep receiving messages that their phones will be blocked.”
Since April 1, phone prices have risen, according to this reseller. “Customers are not interested in buying undeclared phones, but they cannot afford the price of declared ones either. So this causes us a lot of harm,” says Gérard Fontem. He now sells his phones at higher prices, with some nearly doubling from 45,000 to 85,000 CFA francs.
Customs official: ‘Those who say prices went up are those who weren’t paying’
For Paul Olivier Libii, principal customs inspector and focal point for the reform at the Directorate General of Customs in Yaoundé, importers are far from being squeezed. “Those who feel the phone price has increased are those who were not paying [their taxes],” he says. “For those who paid on the basis of transactional value at 66%, the phone price will actually decrease. But those who were not paying used customs duties as an adjustment variable to undermine those who did pay. The new mechanism will bring everyone to the same level.”
Libii stresses that the new mechanism is not a new tax but a new collection system built on digitalization. “The transactional value has been divided by four, even by seven. We have eight collection categories ranging from 5,000 to 400,000 CFA francs. Then the overall rate dropped from 67% to 33.33%, so these are facilitation methods.” About five million phones still escaped the system, and customs services promise they will be tracked down.
The reform has sparked debate among traders and consumers, but authorities remain focused on broadening the tax base and securing the digital market.
