Cameroon has reached a turning point in how it collects duties on imported digital devices. Between April and early September 2026, the Directorate General of Customs pulled in 1.8 billion FCFA (roughly 2.7 million euros) in duties and taxes on imported phones, tablets and digital terminals, thanks to a new collection mechanism that took effect on 1 April. Before the reform, customs clearing of phones fed barely 100 million francs a month into state coffers. The breakthrough has not gone down well with some importers, while customs officials insist the system serves fiscal, security and economic goals.
A bustling market faces a new reality
Avenue Kennedy in Yaoundé, the main hub for imported mobile phones in Cameroon, is packed with activity. Seydou, a second-hand phone importer, says the new declaration and clearance system is causing headaches: “We bring in used phones that sell here for between 20,000 and 25,000 CFA francs. They are cleared at the airport, but customs officers don’t record their serial numbers. When we sell them to customers, they come back saying they keep getting messages that their phones will be blocked.”
Since 1 April, prices have climbed, according to this dealer. “Customers aren’t interested in buying undeclared phones, but they can’t afford the cleared ones either. So it’s causing 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.
“Those who say phone prices went up are the ones who weren’t paying”
From around 68 euros to 129 euros, according to Paul Olivier Libii, a senior customs inspector and focal point for the reform at the Directorate General of Customs in Yaoundé, importers are far from being strangled: “Those who feel the phone price has increased are the ones who weren’t paying [their taxes], because for those who paid on the basis of transaction value at 66%, the phone price will actually go down. 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.”
This new mechanism is not a new tax, but a new collection system built on digitalisation, Libii argues: “The transaction 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.” Around five million phones were still escaping the system, devices that customs services promise will be recovered.