(Business in Cameroon) - As part of the 2017 Finance bill of the Republic of Cameroon, which will be submitted for voting to the members of the Parliament during the ongoing November 2016 session, the Cameroonian government proposes to establish “an African integration contribution (CIA in French)”, we learned from authorised sources.

To be paid by importers, this tax whose rate is of “0.2% of the taxable value of goods originating from countries outside the African Union”, is “meant to fund the African Union institutions”, the government's proposal specifies.

This proposal comes in an environment marked by public Treasury difficulties, due to the drop in the revenues coming from the sale of crude oil, which in general represent up to 25% of the State’s total revenues.

In this situation, the Cameroonian government will have even more difficulties paying its traditional contributions to the Pan African or regional institutions to which the country belongs than previously, and consequently more difficulties in contributing to funding operational charges.

BRM