BRIEF INFO

MINDDEVEL

Letter No. 001754/L/MINDDEVEL/SG/DAJ dated 22 May 2023 addressed to mayors of towns and communes

19 June 2023

On 22 May 2023, the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development (« MINDDEVEL ») sent letter No. 001754/L/MINDDEVEL/SG/DAJ to the mayors of towns and communes concerning the collection of advertising levies (the « Letter »).

This Letter follows on from letter No. 00009054/MINFI/DGI/LRI/L dated 17 November 2022 sent by the Minister of Finance (« MINFI ») to MINDDEVEL on the procedures for collecting advertising duties and taxes.

As a reminder, in its letter No. 00009054/MINFI/DGI/LRI/L dated 17 November 2022, MINFI indicated that current Cameroonian legislation did not provide for an advertising fee applicable to companies’ advertising operations, which makes the said fee an illegal tax whose collection by the Decentralised Territorial Communities (« CTDs ») is not compliant, MINFI stated.

In this letter, MINFI also emphasised that only stamp duty on advertising is payable by companies for advertising operations and is paid by companies belonging to specialised management units to the said units. Other companies must pay it to their advertising agents, who are responsible for paying it to the tax authorities in accordance with the provisions of article 589 et seq. of the General Tax Code.

MINFI had also granted the CTDs full authority to collect revenue relating to the management of spaces developed by them on the public domain under their jurisdiction and leased for the installation of billboard supports, in accordance with the provisions of Article 393 of Law No. 2019/024 of 24 December 2019 on the General Code of the CTDs.

MINDDEVEL’s Letter reiterates in extenso the terms of MINFI’s letter and puts a definitive end to the collection of advertising fees by town halls and district councils.

MINDDEVEL also warns any town or city mayor who orders the collection of an advertising fee or any other similar tax, in violation of the law, that he or she may be held personally liable, as may the CTD for which he or she is responsible.

Businesses should therefore be more vigilant than ever, and reject outright any request for payment from the CTDs or their administrators, seeking to recover the advertising levy, as this is an illegal tax under current Cameroonian law.