The Minister of Finance Louis Paul Motaze, while still prioritizing awareness, invites importers and users of the said phones to regularize their situation within two days at the latest.
Importers and users of phones and other terminals are still circumventing the new electronic customs duty collection mechanism applied since April 1, 2026. This is at least what emerges from the press release from the Minister of Finance, dated April 27, 2026.
In this document, Louis Paul Motaze informs the public that the database of the said mechanism, provided for by Article 6 of the 2023 Finance Law, indicates that 700,000 new phones connected for the first time to the local network between April 1 and April 25 without having been cleared through customs. However, the import of all these devices is subject to the payment of duties and taxes, a payment prior to their sale and activation on the network.
With a view to modernization, reducing revenue losses, and strengthening the fight against fraud, the government has digitized this payment. It has also activated tools to detect devices whose situation is not regularized. According to the Minister of Finance, the system also makes it possible to block smuggled devices.
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However, for this transition phase, the system has not blocked phones. The Minister of Finance nevertheless invites importers and users of terminals activated without customs clearance to regularize their situation without penalty before April 30, 2026, failing which smuggled phones will be blocked without further notice.
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