Customs unveils digital platform for taxes on electronic devices.

The new reform, according to Customs Director General, Edwin Fongod Nuvaga, goes into effect April 1.

Speaking in the presence of his collaborators and representatives from the ministries of finance, posts and telecommunications, telecoms regulatory Board, MTN and Orange Cameroun, Fongod said the move is to address a longstanding challenge.

According to Fongod, it seeks to help the country move from traditional border-based taxation to a technology-driven system to modernise revenue collection. Fongod said previous efforts at physical border points had largely failed.

He told reporters that many travellers have consistently bypassed Customs declarations by concealing multiple devices in personal luggage. 

“It’s very easy to travel abroad, buy several phones and walk through Customs claiming you have nothing to declare,” he said, noting that: “Meanwhile, these devices are subject to duties like any other imported goods”.

He noted that the financial implications of such practices are significant. With high-end smartphones sometimes exceeding one million FCFA, the DG said the standard customs duty of 33.3 percent represents a substantial contribution to State revenue. Failure to collect these taxes, he remarked, deprives the State of critical resources.

The new mechanism, Fongod said, introduces a digital border, relying on the identification and tracking of devices through their International Mobile Equipment Identity, IMEI numbers.

He stated that importers will now be required to declare all devices and submit their IMEI numbers through the Customs information system, ensuring proper assessment and payment of duties.

Beyond revenue collection, the reform, he noted, is expected to bolster national security. He insisted that by ensuring that each device is uniquely identified and registered, authorities, he told reporters, aim to combat issues such as IMEI cloning, where multiple phones share the same identification number. 

Fongod said the practice has historically complicated criminal investigations. “With this system, tracking stolen phones or identifying suspects becomes much easier,” he assured.

Reform not bringing new tax

The Head of the Legislation and Litigation Division at the Directorate General of Customs, Yves Patrick Tchami, reassured the public that the reform does not introduce new taxes. 

“This is not a new tax. It is simply a modernised system that ensures existing taxes are effectively collected,” he emphasized. 

Tchami stated that one of the key highlights of the reform is a tax amnesty granted to devices already in use within the country. 

He noted that any phone that has connected at least once to a local mobile network before April 1 will be considered compliant and exempt from retroactive taxation. 

The system, he said, also introduces a verification process for consumers. He advised phone users to check the Customs status of any phone via SMS or online platforms provided by the Customs administration. 

Devices not properly cleared, Tchami noted, may face restricted access to local networks. The mechanism, he added, also includes provisions for tourists and short-term visitors. 

Tchami furthered that, devices brought into the country in roaming mode will be exempt from Customs clearance, while those requiring local network access can benefit from temporary admission without the payment of duties. 

Such exemption, he said, will be provided proper procedures are followed once the phone owner contacts the Customs Department.

According to him, the reform is not merely an administrative adjustment but a civic initiative requiring public cooperation. He declared that “its success depends on the willingness of citizens to comply and take ownership”.

The reform, it should be said, is backed by a decision signed March 25, 2026, by the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze. In the release, he had underscored that the initiative aligns with Article 6 of the 2023 Finance Law. 

The minister reiterated that the objective is not to increase the tax burden but to broaden the tax base, ensuring fairness among all importers.

Under the new system, the Minister had wrote that, importers and authorised brokers will handle declarations through the Customs Administration’s digital platform, with payments made in local currency via approved channels, including electronic methods.

Motaze had equally called on distributors holding existing stocks to regularise their products within a two-month window, presenting proof of prior customs clearance.

The customs clearance of imported mobile phones, tablets and digital terminals, the release had insisted, remains the responsibility of the importers who bring them into Cameroon.

He had also maintained that declaration and assessment of customs duties and taxes shall be carried out through the Customs Administration’s information system, CAMCIS, by importers and their authorised brokers.

“Authorised vendors and distributors of mobile phones are required to make arrangements to enable their customers to verify the Customs status of the mobile phones in their stock, failing which they shall incur liability, the Minister’s note read in part.

Small quantities of undeclared mobile phones found within the country, Motaze’s release had indicated, “shall be declared using a simplified declaration to the Customs services or via the web page to be communicated by the Directorate General of Customs”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3748 of Wednesday April 01, 2026