Cameroon’s import tax overhaul on mobile phones: who really foots the bill?

Between April and early September 2026, Cameroon’s customs authority collected 1.8 billion CFA francs (roughly 2.7 million euros) in duties and taxes on imported phones, tablets and digital terminals, thanks to a new collection mechanism. Before the reform, phone clearance fed barely 100 million francs a month into state coffers. The change delights the treasury but sows confusion among importers, while customs insists it is pursuing fiscal, security and economic goals.

At Avenue Kennedy, a trade caught between fear and higher prices

On Avenue Kennedy in Yaoundé, the main hub for imported mobile phones, the atmosphere is tense. Seydou, a second-hand phone importer, is grappling with the new declaration and clearance system: “We import used phones that sell here for between 20,000 and 25,000 CFA francs. 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 1 April, prices have climbed, according to this reseller. “Customers are not interested in buying undeclared phones, but they cannot afford the price of cleared ones either. So it 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: ‘Those who say prices went up are those who weren’t paying’

From around 68 euros to 129 euros, 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 suffocating: “Those who feel the phone price has increased are those who weren’t paying [their taxes], because for those who paid on the basis of transactional value at 66%, the phone price will actually decrease. But those who weren’t paying used customs duty as an adjustment variable to undermine those who did pay. The new mechanism will bring everyone to the same level.”

The new mechanism is not a fresh tax but a new collection system rooted in digitalisation, Libii argues: “The transactional value was divided by four, even 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 escape the system, but customs services promise they will be tracked down.

A reform that reshuffles the playing field

For the state, the numbers speak for themselves: the new system has multiplied revenue while simplifying the process. Yet for traders, the transition is far from smooth, with uncertainty over serial numbers and blockages fuelling distrust. As customs vows to bring more devices into the net, the big question remains: can the reform balance fiscal ambition with the everyday reality of Cameroon’s mobile phone market?

By Emmanuel Mbarga — Reporter