Cameroon Revives Phone-Blocking Plan to Recover CFA25 Billion in Annual Customs Revenue

Cameroon plans to start blocking undeclared mobile phones, tablets and other connected devices from local telecom networks on Sept. 1, three months after an initial enforcement deadline failed to take effect. The measure is part of a customs overhaul that authorities expect to generate CFA25 billion in annual revenue from mobile device imports.

Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé announced the new deadline in a statement issued Aug. 20. The measure covers devices that entered Cameroon without customs clearance after April 1, 2026, under a collection system established in the 2023 Finance Law and formally introduced in March 2026.

The restrictions will apply to undeclared devices connecting to a local telecom network for the first time. They will also cover phones first connected after April 1 whose owners received notices and warnings but failed to act.

Devices activated in batches using the same SIM card after April 1 and no longer in continuous use are also covered.

This is the second time in three months that the government has set a deadline for blocking mobile devices that have not cleared customs.

Telecom Operators Raised Technical Concerns

Under the new system, customs authorities identify undeclared devices through their International Mobile Equipment Identity, or IMEI, numbers, which are recorded on the customs platform.

On May 18, the director general of customs instructed MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroon and Camtel to begin blocking undeclared phones and other digital devices on May 25.

The deadline passed without the operators implementing the measure. They had raised several concerns about how the system would work in practice.

Those included one operator’s inability to automatically block devices by May 25, complications caused by phones carrying multiple IMEI numbers and widespread IMEI tampering. Operators also called for improvements to procedures for handling complaints and restoring service after customs duties had been paid.

The Finance Ministry’s Aug. 20 statement does not say whether those concerns have been fully resolved. Motazé, however, cited cooperation among the parties involved, suggesting that preparations have advanced ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline.

Government Targets CFA25 Billion in Annual Revenue

The enforcement plan is designed to increase customs revenue from mobile devices by bringing phones entering through informal channels into the tax system.

Cameroon imports nearly 4 million phones each year, according to government figures. Customs revenue from these devices has fallen sharply over the past two decades as smuggling has increased.

The customs administration says monthly collections have dropped below CFA100 million, compared with about CFA2 billion a month in the 2000s. The government expects its new digital customs collection system to generate CFA25 billion annually.

Whether the Sept. 1 deadline delivers that additional revenue will depend partly on whether the technical and operational problems that derailed the first attempt have now been resolved.

BRM