(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Directorate General of Customs (DGD) recorded 15.7 billion CFA francs in lost or evaded duties between January and September 2025, according to data from nine customs litigation sessions held during the period. Year-on-year, this represents an 87% increase from the 8.4 billion CFA francs recorded over the same period in 2024.
At the same time, fines imposed for customs violations reached 23.1 billion CFA francs, nearly double the 11.6 billion CFA francs collected a year earlier. The number of cases handled also rose sharply, up 14.2% from 5,775 in 2024 to 6,597 in 2025.
The data were released on Oct. 16, 2025, following the 209th meeting of the Customs Litigation Approval Commission. That session, which covered the period from Sept. 18 to Oct. 15, reviewed 675 cases involving 1.7 billion CFA francs in lost duties and 1.8 billion CFA francs in fines.
The most frequent offenses included undeclared imports (140 cases), false value declarations (130 cases), and smuggling operations (75 cases). The largest financial amounts were linked to failures to clear import documentation for goods and services or undeclared imports, totaling 700.9 million CFA francs, followed by undeclared imports (362.7 million CFA francs) and false value declarations (224.3 million CFA francs).
The DGD attributed the rise in customs recoveries to tighter enforcement and improved revenue collection capacity amid growing attempts at fraud and rule evasion.
The next session of the Customs Litigation Approval Commission is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2025. For the current fiscal year, Cameroon Customs has set a collection target of 1,144 billion CFA francs, an 8.3% increase over 2024, reaffirming its goal of strengthening domestic revenue collection.
Frédéric Nonos
