The nations of the European Union with which Cameroon signed an financial partnership settlement (EPA) in 2016, are nonetheless the principle beneficiaries of this business license that enables them to import many merchandise into the nation with out full obligation or half. In line with the report on the Cameroonian economic system in 2023, which has simply been printed by the Ministry of Financial system, Planning and Regional Improvement (Minepat), nearly 10 years after the beginning of its implementation, we’re presently on the finish of the seventh degree of the tariff. a means of elimination, which has progressively led to an eighthperform degree. Meaning, in the meanwhile, a discount in import taxes for merchandise from 2e group corresponding to plaster, lime, marble, clinker, inputs for meals industries, motor autos for the transport of products, trailers and semi-trailers, wheel barrows, particular elements and equipment of autos, about 90%. Gasoline, cement, passenger autos, passenger transport autos, bikes, grains corresponding to wheat, rye, barley, sorghum, child meals preparations, and so on. that are a part of 3e group of merchandise, benefiting from the elimination of taxes as much as 30%. 3.
On the finish of 2023, the unpaid tax losses recorded by Cameroon because of the implementation of the EPA shall be 70.5 billion FCFA. “As of December 31, 2023, the quantity of tax losses of the EPA CAM-EU is estimated at 70.5 billion FCFA for the reason that dismantling started.“, we are able to learn within the talked about doc. Whereas the partnership settlement between Cameroon and the UK signed in March 2021 recorded a tax lack of 687.4 million FCFA. “It’s estimated that the APE CAM-RU is 687.4 million FCFA., emphasizing Minepat. This represents a complete tax lack of 71.18 billion FCFA.
Native SMEs haven’t any benefit
In line with this ministerial division, the implementation of those two agreements is nearly a profit to Cameroonian small and medium companies that symbolize greater than 90% of the native financial construction. The one ones who profit are the large corporations, which work within the agri-food business sectors (brewing and manufacturing of bread-based merchandise), cement factories, power, development, paper manufacturing and distribution). Which leads Minepat to say that “the nationwide financial cloth is made up largely of Small and Medium Enterprises, the affect of the EPA on financial exercise is hardly seen, particularly by way of job creation, ‘growing and diversifying exports’.. To treatment this, he recommends negotiating assembly agreements on commerce in providers and investments; holding focus teams by sector of exercise to watch the implementation of EPAs within the personal sector; strengthening the capacities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order that they will higher benefit from the alternatives supplied by EPAs; improvement of coaching packages and technical help to help corporations of their internationalization course of and compliance with worldwide requirements.
