Customs DG Assures Cameroonians that taxes on mobile devices will make phones more affordable
The Director General of Customs, Edwin Fongod Nuvaga, has maintained that the new tax on imported mobile phones is meant to ensure Cameroonians can obtain phones at affordable prices, adding that the 33 per cent charged is reduced from a previous rate of 67 per cent.
Speaking during the government action fair, SAGO, in Yaounde on Saturday, he clarified that customs does not collect 33 per cent of a phone’s total value as tax, but rather 33 per cent of the phone’s taxable value.
Under the new tax regime, he explained, a phone’s taxable value is set at 33 per cent of its actual value, down from 67 per cent previously.
“The imposable value of a telephone, we reduce the rate by 4, meaning that for telephones that cost one million plus, our taxable value is only 400,000. So, 400,000 at 33 per cent is just 140,000 FCFA for a phone that costs over a million. In the past, that same phone of FCFA 1.2 million would be levied at 67 per cent, which is about 700,000FCFA in dues and taxes, but that is not the case today. All these measures are to accompany the users of our service and, of course, to make sure that Cameroonians all have telephones at affordable prices,” Mr Fongod said.
The new customs move on mobile phones has generated crossfire among Cameroonians, especially coming within the context when Cameroonians are already suffocating under huge taxes and high cost of living.
The law, first promulgated in 2023, mandates importers to declare imported digital devices at customs, where taxes are deducted, and a unique identification is assigned to the device before it is connected to the mobile network
Customs DG Assures Cameroonians that taxes on mobile devices will make phones more affordable
