A joint decision by the Ministries of Finance and Posts and Telecommunications, signed on March 25, 2026, fundamentally redefines the rules for importing and circulating digital terminals in Cameroon.
“End informal channels and secure public revenues”: this is the stated ambition of the new joint Minfi–Minpostel decision. The text now strictly regulates the collection of customs duties and taxes on imported mobile phones, tablets and other digital terminals, in application of the 2023 finance law.
In detail, the measure concerns a wide range of actors: importers, distributors, but also ordinary users in possession of devices not cleared at entry into the territory. “Every terminal introduced into Cameroon must be declared and regularized,” the administration insists.
A notable exception is, however, provided. Devices already connected to local networks before the system comes into effect benefit from tax amnesty and are considered in order.
At the heart of the new mechanism is the CAMCIS customs computer system, now interconnected with a national terminal identification platform. Through the IMEI number, each device is registered, classified and tracked. The objective is clear: to prevent undeclared equipment from accessing telecommunications networks.
Telecommunications operators are thus called upon. They must configure their networks to block any unregistered device, on pain of being considered complicit in fraud. On the other hand, tourists and short-term visitors benefit from a flexible regime: their devices can be used for up to 30 days, renewable within a cumulative limit of 90 days, without payment of duties.
Another innovation: a free tool to verify customs status will be made available to the public. Sellers will be required to allow customers to ensure, before any purchase, that the device is in order.
Furthermore, holders of devices received as gifts must contact customs services for their regularization. As for distributors with already cleared stocks, they have a period of 60 days to register them in the new database.
Finally, the text firmly recalls that “the importation or possession of undeclared devices constitutes a smuggling offense,” subject to sanctions in accordance with current regulations.
With this reform, the authorities intend to both strengthen control of the digital terminal market and secure tax revenues, in a rapidly expanding sector.
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