In the 2022 rectifying finance bill, which Cameroonian parliamentarians are preparing to examine, the government reveals a reduction in its customs revenue forecasts of 40 billion F in the current year.
According to the draft submitted to Parliament for approval, this drop in forecasts is “linked to the impact of the crisis (Russian-Ukrainian, which has caused a surge in international prices, editor’s note) and the EPAs” signed with the European Union (EU).
Indeed, since the outbreak of Russian bombing in Ukraine, the prices of raw materials have exploded on the international market, as well as the costs of oil and freight. This reality has led the Cameroonian government to take two measures, which will have a significant impact in terms of reducing customs revenues.
The first, taken on 16 November 2021, and extended for the second time on 3 June 2022 for a period of three months, establishes an 80% discount on the cost of freight to be included in the customs value of goods imported by sea.
This decision, taken in a “context of unprecedented increase in the cost of international transport of goods“, explained the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motazé, aims to mitigate the additional costs incurred by economic operators due to the increase in prices of raw materials and freight on the international market. However, it causes the Treasury to lose a significant portion of customs revenue.
The second measure relates to the reduction of customs tariffs on imported oil products. This decision, taken on 29 April 2022 by the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motazé, extends over “a period of six months, renewable if necessary”.
According to sources close to the matter, this decision, which will lead to a drop in customs revenue, will result in avoiding an explosion of the state subsidy (480 billion CFA francs, according to the amending finance law) intended to support the prices of petroleum products at the pump during the year 2022, on the one hand, and to avoid an increase in prices to consumers, on the other hand.
