(Business in Cameroon) - In Cameroon, the government has decided to apply value-added tax (VAT) in the e-commerce sector for the 2020 fiscal year.

In detail, the Ministry of Finance (Minfi) indicates, goods and services sold on Cameroonian territory through e-commerce platforms, as well as related commissions, are now subjected to VAT.

In addition, the finance law provides for the VAT liability of e-commerce platforms, implying the obligation for them to liquidate, declare and pay VAT on digital transactions made by Cameroonian consumers. This law provides for the implementation of simplified modalities for the online registration, collection, and remittance of VAT for these platforms.

According to tax specialists, the application of VAT on e-commerce in Cameroon will not be easy, as the collection is difficult even in developed countries such as France. Indeed, a report consulted in December 2019, by the French newspaper Les Echos shows that 98% of sellers registered on the marketplaces of e-commerce sites (Amazon, Cdiscount) are not registered for VAT in France.

“During an administrative check, only 538 out of 24,459 sellers were found to be in order. This figure is all the more worrying as these ‘marketplaces’ have grown considerably in recent years. Amazon now accounts for 58% of its business, compared with 3% twenty years ago. At Cdiscount, this share would be between 30% and 40%,” Les Echos indicated.

Sylvain Andzongo