Following the 2023 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ITIE) report, which highlighted a significant disparity between declared and exported gold from Cameroon, the government has initiated comprehensive measures. These actions aim to rectify the systemic deficiencies that led not to a physical loss of Cameroon’s gold resources, but rather to a substantial shortfall in fiscal and customs revenues that the state should have collected from these legitimate exports.

This situation underscores a critical equation: illegal gold exportation, or smuggling, directly translates into a loss of state revenue. Taxes and duties, which are legally mandated to be collected at the source before any exportation, have been systematically evaded.

In response, the government, through the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (MINMIDT), has launched a series of restructuring and regularization efforts. These include both internal and external fiscal and customs recovery operations. The primary objective is to reclaim outstanding amounts owed to the state by various operators for the fiscal years spanning 2023 to 2025.

The internal recovery phase, set to commence on August 1st, will be spearheaded by a joint team comprising representatives from the National Mining Company (SONAMINES), the Directorate General of Taxation (DGI), and the Directorate General of Customs (DGD). This initiative seeks to recoup lost revenues resulting from under-declarations and non-declarations, which have led to either insufficient or entirely absent tax collection by SONAMINES from companies operating within the country. Two distinct categories of companies have been identified for these recovery efforts.

The first category includes fifty-one companies engaged in physical gold extraction, a method historically practiced in the field, whose declarations have been consistently understated. The second category, recently uncovered by MINMIDT, involves thirty-three sites utilizing modern gold extraction systems, whose production has never been declared for tax collection. These various recovery actions are projected to enable the state to recover at least 300 billion CFA francs in the short term, thereby exceeding the approximately 165 billion CFA francs in revenue losses reported by the ITIE in 2023.

Concurrently, an external recovery effort is underway, leveraging information gathered internationally. This initiative involves collaboration with the Emirati Government to compile a comprehensive list of individuals and corporate entities that exported gold from Cameroon between 2023 and 2026. The aim is to recover hundreds of billions of CFA francs in overdue tax revenues.

Ultimately, these dual internal and external fiscal and customs recovery strategies are designed not only to compensate for past revenue shortfalls but also to establish a robust and efficient collection system for the future. This new framework for controlling gold production will involve engaging an international expert company and implementing direct collection at the source by the Tax and Customs Administrations, working in conjunction with SONAMINES. The MINMIDT communication unit clarifies that the implementation of this comprehensive restructuring will effectively eliminate the discrepancies previously observed, ensuring that all gold exports are conducted legally and with full payment of due amounts to the state.