The just lately enacted Regulation N° 2023/019, dated December 19, 2023, marks a major turning level within the monetary panorama of Cameroon. Because the cornerstone of the 2024 fiscal yr, this Finance Regulation, promulgated by the President of the Republic, brings about crucial modifications to the Normal Tax Code, reflecting the nation’s evolving financial priorities and methods. This text delves into these modifications, providing an in depth exploration of their implications for companies and people throughout Cameroon.
I. Normal Tax Issues
1. Deductible and Non-Deductible Bills
- Beneath the class of precise losses, losses incurred because of transferring money owed from a dissolved firm to the buying firm throughout restructuring (with change in actions) shall not be thought-about a tax-deductible bills.
- Nonetheless beneath the class of precise losses, solely formally verified, non- negligent or reckless losses shall be thought-about tax-deductible bills. As well as, these losses have to be permitted by a tax controller and not a tax inspector.
- Money funds from 100,000 FCFA and above shall not be thought-about tax-deductible bills.
- Bills supported by invoices not issued by means of the tax authority’s digital system shall not be tax deductible.
- Remuneration paid to self-employed professionals who’re working towards in violation of the relevant rules of their professions shall not be thought-about a tax-deductible expense.
- Funds made to inactive taxpayers shall not be thought-about a tax-deductible expense.
2. Submitting Obligations
2.1. software for registration
- To turn into a registered taxpayer the applying file should along with a website plan and a legitimate e-mail tackle, additionally embody, a subscription references of the general public water or electrical energy distribution service firm, and a phone quantity.
2.2. Submitting Returns
- The deadlines for taxpayers to file their annual tax returns within the incoming yr, now is determined by their respective tax facilities as follows:
– taxpayers beneath the large-scale administration unit: March fifteenth
– taxpayers beneath the small and medium-size and specialised facilities :
April fifteenth
– taxpayers beneath divisional facilities: Could fifth
- The net tax portal is not the one means by means of which firms beneath the specialised facilities are required to file their tax returns and reviews.
- Taxpayers who miss submitting returns two months (not three months) in a row can be mechanically faraway from the tax database. For non- skilled taxpayers, the primary failure to file annual returns results in automated deletion. Reinsertion is feasible solely after resolving their tax points.
- The place a taxpayer misses the deadline to file a return, they’ll get a reminder letter. They’ve 7 days (not 15 days) from receiving the letter (or the postmark or signed mail register for hand supply) to regularize the state of affairs.
- Enterprise homeowners are actually required to incorporate of their submitting of the person return for every employee, a listing of gross sales for every buyer, with their ID quantity and whole quantity spent prior to now yr.
3. Non-professional taxpayers
- A brand new class of taxpayers name “Non-professional taxpayers” was launched for people who solely obtain earnings from salaries, wages, pensions, life annuities and/or earnings from movable capital and earnings from property, and normally any passive earnings.
- Non-professional taxpayers pay taxes both as private earnings tax within the classes of salaries and wages and property earnings, registration charges, tax on landed property and tax on actual property wealth; or particular earnings tax, and wage deductions.
- Non-professional taxpayers shall be required to file a abstract annual return of their earnings.
4. Tax compliance certificates
- The “tax clearance certificates” was changed with a “tax compliance certificates” which signifies that the taxpayer is nice to go along with taxes – no money owed on the date of subject.
- A tax compliance certificates is necessary for the next : skilled taxpayers transferring funds overseas; issuing tax exemption certificates and paying taxes and duties; receiving funds from the State, areas, municipalities, public institutions, and sure private and non-private firms; Export transactions; and Visa purposes at diplomatic and consular missions.
5. Capital Beneficial properties
- Capital beneficial properties from the switch of shares of the overseas entity to the Cameroonian firm’s capital, will now be considered when figuring out the taxable earnings, quite than counting on the switch value quota related to the shares of the overseas entity within the Cameroonian firm’s capital. The quantity to be taken under consideration as switch value with a purpose to decide the achieve or loss shall, beneath no circumstance, be under the worth of the values transferred.
- Private earnings tax levied on capital beneficial properties from securities and deducted at supply by the particular person paying the proceeds shall give rise to the issuance of a certificates of deduction at supply which have to be generated from the net tax portal.
6. Enterprise and Goodwill
- The switch of business-related devices and property, together with lease rights, movable or mounted operational objects, and goodwill, will now be topic to an intermediate tax price of 10% (not the upper price of 15%).
- The switch of use of companies, together with prospects, is now topic to an intermediate price of 10%.
- The transferee and the transferor are actually collectively and severally liable to cost of the sums due for switch overseas of the rights over the enterprise of an organization beneath Cameroonian legislation.
II- Particular Issues
7. Obligation to subject a withholding tax certificates generated from tax system
- Industrialists, importers, wholesalers, semi-wholesalers, and forestry firms who withhold earnings tax or buy taxes are required to subject a withholding tax certificates generated from the net tax portal.
8. Obligation to submit an audit report and inventories
- Taxpayers are actually required to spontaneously transmit to their tax middle, inside fifteen (15) days of the date of submission to the courtroom registries, their auditor report as quickly as the corporate has been notified thereof and inventories duly signed and initialled. Failure to spontaneously transmit the auditor’s report and inventories shall be punished with a effective of fifty,000,000 (fifty million) FCFA.
9. Dependent or management firms
- Cameroon firms which might be depending on or management firms in Cameroon or overseas and that are beneath large-scale administration, are required to electronically file no later than March 15 of the next yr, an annual switch pricing declaration, utilizing a mannequin offered by the tax administration, . Failure to file the stated declaration as prescribed, or submitting an incomplete or non-compliant declaration, shall be punishable with a set effective of CFAF 5,000,000 (5 million).
- Cameroon firms which might be depending on or management firms in Cameroon or overseas, and that maintain, instantly or not directly, on the finish of the monetary yr, greater than 25% of the share capital or voting rights of an entity established in Cameroon or overseas whose annual turnover excluding tax or gross property is bigger than or equal to CFA 1,000,000,000 (one billion), are required to electronically present to the tax authority, in the beginning of an accounting audit, paperwork enabling them to justify the switch pricing coverage utilized to all transactions with affiliated entities established in Cameroon or overseas.
- Beginning 2024, some dependent or managed Cameroonian firms in multinational teams should file a particular report every year. This report particulars the group’s income in every nation, tax and accounting information, and the place the corporate operates. Failure to file or incomplete or inaccurate submitting of the particular report shall be punished with a set effective of CFAF 50 000 000 (fifty million).
10. Private Revenue Tax and evaluation thereof
- Private earnings tax now encompasses the world earnings of any pure particular person whose tax residence is in Cameroon.
- The next worker advantages are actually taxable: phone (5%), gasoline (10%), safety guard (5%), and web (5%). All different advantages in variety shall be valued at their precise value.
- Any money allowance granted in lieu of advantages in variety have to be included within the tax base for evaluation. The tax is calculated on the precise quantity of the allowance, except exempt by a separate provision.
- The fixed-rate 30% enterprise expense deduction, utilized in calculating internet taxable earnings, is now capped at 4,800,000 FCFA per yr.
- For taxpayers whose distinctive earnings exceeds the marginal tax price threshold, the private earnings tax payable shall be calculated on the mixed whole of their common taxable earnings and 75% of their internet distinctive earnings.
11. Particular Tax
- No extra 15% tax price relevant on earnings paid to pure individuals or company our bodies domiciled exterior Cameroon by pure individuals or company our bodies situated in Cameroon, the State, or regional or native authorities.
- The proceeds referred to above are actually taxable in Cameroon when paid by pure individuals situated in Cameroon to individuals not having a everlasting institution in Cameroon, or when they’re included as deductible expenses within the calculation of the taxpayer’s outcomes.
III- Sector Particular Tax Obligations
12. Monetary Establishments and Insurance coverage Firms
- Monetary establishments, insurance coverage firms, and associated companies are actually required to determine the tax residents of their account holders and controllers of the stated accounts.
- Monetary establishments, and associated companies should open up to tax authorities info associated to their account holders, controllers of the stated accounts, in addition to monetary info relating to those accounts.
- Beginning January 1, 2025, anybody opening a checking account should present details about their tax residence in addition to the tax residence of the controller of the stated account.
- Failure to adjust to the necessities for figuring out and reporting account holders and their tax residency, together with late, incomplete, inadequate, or incorrect reviews, shall be punishable by a effective of FCFA 5 million per account.
- Failure by pure individuals or entities to supply monetary establishments with the required self-certification concerning their tax residency shall end in a effective of FCFA 1 million per account holder. The deliberate provision of false or faulty info in such self-certification by an account holder or a pure particular person controlling the account holder shall represent forgery and be punishable by the penalties offered for within the Prison Code.
- Failure by monetary establishments and related entities to adjust to the necessities for conserving and reporting info and paperwork as stipulated shall be punishable by a effective of FCFA 1 million per yr and per account topic to reporting. Moreover, failure to adjust to the retention interval of 5 (5) years following the tip of the interval throughout which they have to present the required info shall be thought-about equal to failure to maintain information.
- The stamp responsibility on motor autos collected by insurance coverage firms in the course of the first cost of the insurance coverage premium, whether or not partial or whole, shall be topic to the issuance of a receipt generated from the net tax portal. Failure by insurance firms to subject a certificates of cost of the stated stamp responsibility generated from the net tax portal shall be punishable with a set effective of as much as 5,000,000 (5 million) FCFA.
- Failure to provide justification of cost of the stamp responsibility on motor autos by presenting a cost certificates generated from the net tax portal to a licensed management official shall be punishable by a effective starting from 1,400 FCFA to 2,400 FCFA.
13. Digital Belongings
14. Digital platforms
- Revenue generated by people on digital platforms from actions akin to promoting items, offering providers, or exchanging or sharing items shall be thought-about and taxed as non-commercial or related earnings. A 5% tax price shall apply to earnings generated from these sources.
15. Actual Property
- Fee of withholding tax on rental earnings shall give rise to a withholding tax certificates, generated electronically from the tax system. Part 88 of the 2024 Finance Regulation
- Capital beneficial properties realized from the sale of built-on or non-build-on property or acquired freed from cost shall now be topic to a ten% tax price withheld at supply by the notary when the transaction is concluded in money. Part 90 of the 2024 Finance Regulation
- The registration responsibility for a protracted lease could also be cut up into installments comparable to the variety of three-year durations within the lease time period. Part 546 (b) of the 2024 Finance Regulation
- Devices and transfers regarding buildings used for skilled, industrial, and business functions, together with leases, subleases, lease transfers, extensions, and verbal or fixed-term leases, in addition to leases granted by firms for his or her employees and executives, are actually topic to an intermediate price of 10%, excluding leases of buildings in rural areas for enterprise functions.
16. Transport
- Transportation of products by air in Cameroon is now topic to a price of 10,000 FCFA per invoice of lading.
17. Agriculture
- Revenue earned by smallholders shall not be thought-about revenue from agricultural actions for the needs of figuring out private earnings tax legal responsibility.
18. Petroleum merchandise
- The speed of the particular tax relevant to pure gasoline for industrial use has been diminished from 70 FCFA to 60 FCFA per cubic meter.
19. Logging
- A short lived ban has been imposed on bidding for logging permits or making use of for the issuance of safe consignment notes for timber within the occasion of failure to pay levies, taxes, and duties following a proper discover.
20. Non-profit organizations (NPOs)
- Taxpayers beneath the NPO system shall be topic to a 15% withholding tax at supply on gross actual property earnings paid as hire.
- NPOs are required to withhold 5% tax at supply on the charges, commissions, and emoluments paid to members of liberal professions, no matter their authorized kind or tax system.
- Devices and transfers of property to associations acknowledged as being of public utility and duly licensed faith-based our bodies are topic to a super- diminished price of 1%.
21. Succession
- The worth used for calculating registration responsibility in circumstances of inheritance, division, launch from joint possession, and presents inter vivos within the direct line and between spouses shall be decided by making use of a 50% low cost to the worth ensuing from making use of the official value listing.
22. Import or Export
- Taxpayers in Cameroon doing import or export should be energetic taxpayers and have a tax compliance certificates.
23. Worth Added Tax (VAT)
- The next meals objects are exempted from VAT: Parboiled rice; Perfumed rice; Decorative fish; Chilled trout; Recent or chilled salmon; Fish livers and roes; Frozen salmon and trout; Fish offal (frozen); Dried, smoked, or salted fish livers, roes, and salmon and Cod.
- To have the ability to declare VAT credit score on purchases in Cameroon, such VAT should seem on an bill duly issued from the net tax portal and bearing the only identification variety of the provider who’s taxed primarily based on precise earnings and have to be a registered and energetic taxpayer on the time of invoicing. Nonetheless, these circumstances shall not apply for overseas suppliers.
- VAT deductions at supply shall solely be accepted upon presentation of a legitimate certificates of deduction issued by the licensed entity and generated from the net tax portal. Certificates generated exterior this technique is not going to be accepted.
- VAT deductions arising from preliminary invoices and credit score notes regarding business reductions granted to the State, regional and native authorities, administrative public institutions, public and semi-public enterprises, and sure non-public sector firms shall be topic to the issuance of a certificates of deduction at supply generated from the net tax portal.
- For VAT refunds, any certificates of deduction at supply generated exterior the net tax portal shall not be thought-about legitimate for refund functions.
24. Excise responsibility
- The taxable base for excise responsibility on carbonated drinks shall be decided by making use of a ten% discount (not 25%). Part 141a (new) of the 2024 Finance Regulation
- The ten% excise responsibility discount beforehand utilized to beer with an alcohol content material of 5.5% or much less has been abolished.
- The common excise responsibility shall apply to the next imported objects: refined vegetable oils; cocoa beans, together with these supposed to be used as uncooked supplies; imported canine or cat feed; and charcoal. Part 142(6) (a) of the 2024 Finance Regulation
- The diminished excise responsibility can be utilized to imported cereal merchandise (corn flakes) and meals preparations obtained from imported cereal flakes. Part 142(6)(b) of the 2024 Finance Regulation