(Business in Cameroon) - The General Tax Directorate (DGI), in a recent note, reminded Cameroonian taxpayers of a tax moderation procedure that will help them clear their tax arrears.

According to the note, this is a special transaction procedure contained in article 16 of the 2020 finance law. It is a contract by which the tax administration and the taxpayer put an end to a dispute or a collection procedure by granting reciprocal concessions that will lead to tax moderation. According to the DGI, with this procedure, "the Cameroonian state, concerned about improving the business climate, offers taxpayers the following possibilities: strengthen their balance sheets by releasing them from tax arrears or putting an end to litigation procedures whose outcome is uncertain for them."

This note comes at the right time since the procedure’s application period (January 1 to December 31, 2020) is gradually running to an end. It concerns taxes issued by December 31, 2018, and does not include tax arrears whose payments are being made in the framework of a reciprocal debt offsetting procedure. This means that applications for taxes and duties issued from January 1, 2019, onward are not acceptable. Also, for tax arrears being paid in the framework of a reciprocal debt offsetting procedure, even if they were issued before January 1, 2019, the application would not be received either.