Trading Centres at Cameroon's borders

January 26, 2022

Cameroon Customs' key project for 2022

The 2022 edition of the International Customs Day, celebrated on January 26, was an opportunity for the Director General of Customs Fongod Edwin Novaga to make public the imminent launch of this project which also aims at better securing customs revenues and combating illicit trafficking at international borders.

"I hereby announce the imminent signing of an MoU with the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon, with the dual objective of fostering the government's decentralisation agenda and optimising customs revenues through the establishment of trading centres along certain borders with neighbouring countries," he said.

The customs top official is thus reviving a project that has been dormant for many years. In fact, this project was initially launched in September 2014 by the then Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, by virtue of the "decree on the creation, organization and operation of trading centres in border areas”. Article 2 of the decree defines trading centres as "single entry points for goods in border towns of the hinterland, warehouses or customs clearance areas set up within the framework of a partnership between the customs administration and the various councils concerned".

It is believed that these trading centres will provide a new source of revenue for local councils located in border areas, given that Article 11 of the same decree states that "councils having set up trading centres shall be entitled to an annual financial allocation as return on investment, calculated on the basis of the revenue generated by the customs offices located on the territory of the council”.

The creation of these trading centres, as prescribed by the 2011 Finance Law, should help reduce losses suffered by the customs administration and businesses estimated at CFAF 225 billion per year by the Chamber of Commerce. Such losses are mainly due to fraud and cargo smuggling. The effectiveness of these centres could be limited by the extreme porosity of Cameroon's borders, a customs official remarked.

Within the framework of the 2022 Finance Law, customs revenues are projected to reach CFAF 903.9 billion, an increase of CFAF 99.2 billion compared to 2021. Cameroon’s Customs authorities believe that bringing this project back to life shall help combat illicit trade and increase its revenues.

Source: www.investiraucameroun.com