Cameroon: Business Environment

Accounting Rules

Tax Year: The fiscal year extends from 1st January to 31st December.
Accounting Standards: The accounting standards are based on the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).
Accounting Regulation Bodies: Ministry of Commerce
Accounting Reports: - At the end of each accounting year, the manager discloses the financial statements synthesis, in compliance with the Uniform Act regulations concerning the organization and harmonization of accounts.
-The Manager must prepare an annual report.
Publication Requirements: - An annual report must be published.
- Any modification in the presentation of the financial statements synthesis must be indicated in the annual report and, if possible, in the report of the auditor.
- The accounting documents.
Professional Accountancy Bodies: National Order of Certified Public Accountants of Cameroon
Certification and Auditing: The verification of accounts is undertaken by auditors. They are engaged in certifying the regularity and the true nature of the financial statements and to give their certification with certain reservations or to refuse it, precising the reasons. You can contact external auditors: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Accounting News

Tax Rates

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax: Value Added Tax (VAT)
Tax Rate: The VAT rate is 19.25% (17.5% plus a 10% local surcharge)
Reduced Tax Rate: Exports and transactions carried out in free trade zones are zero-rated.
Certain essential goods are exempt, including: transactions relating to the transfer of ownership of real estate and goodwill subject to transfer tax or equivalent taxation, provided such transactions are subject to registration duties; real estate transactions of all kinds carried out by non-professionals (if they are subject to registration duties); fees charged by educational institutions and universities; pesticides, fertilizers and their inputs, beef (except imported meat), pharmaceuticals, etc.; sales of petroleum products for the refuelling of airplanes of companies based in Cameroon; supplies of water and electricity for domestic consumption up to 20 m3/month and 220 kW/ month respectively; medical services; materials and equipment for producing solar and wind energy; urban public transport by bus; contracts and commissions on life insurance products with a savings component; interest on negotiable debt securities issued by the state, regional and local authorities; interest on loans of less than XAF 2 million granted by category 1 micro-finance institutions.
Other Consumption Taxes: An excise duty of 25% is applicable to cigarettes, drinks, cosmetics or luxury products, jewels, and precious stones. A reduced rate of 12.5% may apply to soft drinks and private vehicles with engine capacities of 2,000 cm³. Gambling activities, including lottery, are subject to a specific tax rate of 15% of turnover.
Mobile telephone communications and Internet services are subject to an extra-reduced rate of excise duties at 2%.
Some arms and their parts are also subject to a 25% excise duty.

Corporate Taxes

Company Tax: 33% for companies with a turnover above 3 billions
30.8% for companies with a turnover below 3 billions
Tax Rate For Foreign Companies: Resident firms are taxed on worldwide income whereas non-resident companies are only liable for their Cameroon-sourced income.
An entity is deemed resident if its registered office, centre of activity, or management is located in Cameroon; if it has resident employees in Cameroon that provide services to customers; or if it has a permanent establishment in the country.
Capital Gains Taxation: Capital gains are treated as business income and taxed at the standard corporate tax rates. Capital gains arising from the sale of listed shares or the transfer of rights related to natural resources are subject to a 16.5% withholding tax. Gains derived from the transfer of stocks and shares and bonds are taxable even in the case of indirect disposals.
Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credits: Depreciation of tangible and intangible assets is tax-deductible at rates ranging from 1% to 100%. Deduction of depreciation can be carried forward indefinitely. Goodwill can also be amortised for tax purposes.
The Cameroon Tax Code does not provide any mechanism for the deduction of start-up costs, but these may be deductible over a period of two to five years based on the accounting principles of the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).
Any payment made for the purchase of intellectual property (within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community) is deductible up to 2.5% of taxable income.
Interest costs and bad debt are generally deductible. For bad debt deduction, companies must prove they have unsuccessfully carried out measures for debt recovery.
Donations to charities are not deductible. On the other hand, payments to research and development organizations, educational, sports, philanthropic and social organisations are deductible at the rate of 0.5% of the annual turnover (the rate goes up to 5% for donations to clubs participating in the elite national competitions or to recognised organisations responsible for the organisation of official sports competitions).
Fines and taxes paid are not deductible (with the exception of business taxes regarding operations in Cameroon).
Tax losses can be carried forward for up to four years (six years for credit institutions and companies in the State portfolio). The carryback of losses is not permitted.
Other Corporate Taxes: Social security contributions payable by the employer amount to 11.2% of the salary. The contribution base is capped at XAF 750,000 per month. Employers are also required to pay a 1.75%, 2% or 5% salary contribution to the National Social Insurance Fund. The payroll tax is 2.5% of the total amount of wages and benefits in kind.
All companies are subject to a professional tax (business license tax) at varying rates based on their turnover. It amounts to 0.159% of the turnover of large companies (a minimum contribution of XAF 5 million and a maximum of XAF 2.5 billion), 0.283% for medium-sized enterprises (a minimum contribution of XAF 141,500 and a maximum of XAF 4.5 million) and 0.494% for small businesses (a minimum contribution of XAF 50,000 and a maximum of XAF 140,000). Newly incorporated businesses are exempt from this tax in their first year of operation.
A 16.5% WHT is to be deducted at source by entities that pay remunerations granted to the board members of public institutions, public corporations, and semi-public companies in any capacity.
Stamp duties range from XAF 1,000 to XAF 1,500. Registration fees are also levied on most transactions (listed by the General Tax Code) at rates ranging from 1% to 15%. The sale of a company is subject to 15% transfer duty.
The property tax is levied at 0.1% of the assessed value of a property.
A tourist tax is levied according to the type of hotel, between XAF 500 and 5,000.
A special tax on petroleum products is payable by companies distributing taxable products. The rate is XAF 110 per litre on super gasoline and XAF 65 per litre on petroleum diesel.
Other Domestic Resources: Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the taxes and mandatory contributions.

Country Comparison For Corporate Taxation

	Cameroon	Sub-Saharan Africa	United States	Germany
Number of Payments of Taxes per Year	44.0	36.6	10.6	9.0
Time Taken For Administrative Formalities (Hours)	624.0	284.8	175.0	218.0
Total Share of Taxes (% of Profit)	57.7	47.3	36.6	48.8

Source: Doing Business - Latest available data.

Individual Taxes

Tax Rate

Net Personal Income Tax on salaries	Progressive rate from 11% to 38.5% (all rates include the 10% surcharge)
From XAF 0 to 2,000,000	11%
From XAF 2,000,001 to 3,000,000	16.5%
From XAF 3,000,001 to 5,000,000	27.5%
More than XAF 5,000,000	38.5%
Net incomes from other activities	33%

Allowable Deductions and Tax Credits: Allowable deductions include business expenses (up to 30% of the taxable salary) and social security contributions. All individuals are entitled to an annual abatement of a fixed amount of XAF 500,000 for wages and salaries.
Wages of less than XAF 62,000, scholarships, interest on savings not exceeding XAF 50 million, and income on cash vouchers issued by companies are exempt from personal income tax.
Special Expatriate Tax Regime: There is no special tax regime for expatriates, who are taxed on their Cameroon-source income.
Foreigners who stay in Cameroon for more than 183 days in a calendar year are considered tax domiciled in Cameroon.

Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed: See the list of the conventions signed by Cameroon
Withholding Taxes: Dividends: 16.5% (10% surcharge included), Interest: 16.5% (10% surcharge included), Royalties: 15% (no surchage applies).

Sources of Fiscal Information

Tax Authorities: Overview of Cameroon's tax measures in response to Covid-19
Directorate General of Taxes
Other Domestic Resources: Cameroon Tax Legislation

Intellectual Property

National Organisations: Cameroon has signed an agreement at the time of the establishment of the World Organisation of Intellectual Property (WIPO). You can contact the Directorate of Technological Development and Industrial Property by Email.
Regional Organisations: Cameroon is a member of the African Intellectual Property Organization since 24th February 1999.
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property

National Regulation and International Agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent The Bangui Agreement of March 1977	20 years
Trademark Agreement revising the Bangui Agreement of 2nd March 1977, after the creation of the African Intellectual Property Organization on 24th February 1999	10 years, renewable for consecutive periods of 10 years
Design Agreement Revising the Bangui Agreement of March 2, 1977, on the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization, February 24, 1999	5 years, renewable for two further consecutive periods of 5 years
Copyright Law no. 2000/011 related to copyright	10 years	Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations WIPO Copyright Treaty
Industrial Models Bangui Agreement of March 1977	20 years

Legal Framework

Independence of Justice: Judiciary is not independent in Cameroon and is highly subject to political influence. A high degree of corruption exists in the country.
Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Foreigners cannot expect a fair trial from the country's judicial system.
The Language of Justice: The judicial languages in the country are French and English.
Recourse to an Interpreter: The Cameroonian government provides for interpreters for defendants. However, these interpreters are called only once the trial starts. Thus, for all the steps before the trial, one has to make do without an interpreter. In addition, the transmission of legal information is always problematic. The message is often distorted and the interpreter does not always find the right words to translate it.
Sources of the Law and Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1972 (approved by referendum, and revised in January 1996) which is based on the French civil law system. The country accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Checking National Laws Online: Laws on finances 2013 (in French)
Cameroon Laws

Standards

National Standards Organisations: Standards and Quality Agency
Integration in the International Standards Network: Cameroon is a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the Francophonie and Standardization Network (RNF). It is also a member of the African Intellectual Property Organization (AIPO), the Paris Convention concerning intellectual protection, as well as a member of the International Organization for Intellectual Property.
Classification of Standards: The Cameroonian standards are the NC, derived from the French and the international (ISO) ones.
Online Consultation of Standards: The Cameroonian standards are available yet on the ANOR website.
Certification Organisations: Standards and Quality Agency

Business Practices

General Information: Guide of Cameroon (Commisceo)
Opening Hours and Days: Banks as well as Government offices are open from Monday to Friday from 7h30 to 15h00.
Shops are open from 9h00 to 12h00 and in the afternoon from 15h00 to 18h00 from Monday to Saturday.

Public Holidays

New Year	1st January
Aid el Adha	Variable
Aid el Fitr	Variable
Youth Day	11th February
Saint Friday	March or April
Labor Day	1st May
Ascension	May
National Day	20th May
Assumption	15th August
Christmas	25th December

Periods When Companies Usually Close

Christmas (companies function at a slackened pace during this period)	15th December to 5th January
The Easter week	variable according to the year

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