Customs facilities for the promotion of investments

They centre around the governmental measures applied within the concerted framework of stakeholders of the port sector and the specific customs measures for the promotion of investments.

1 ÔÇô THE GOVERNMENT MEASURES APPLIED WITHIN THE CONCERTED FRAMEWORK OF STAKEHOLDERS OF THE PORT SECTOR

Three key measures merit to be highlighted.

a) National Committee for the Facilitation of international maritime traffic (FAL Committee)

b) The One-stop Shop of External Trade Operations (GUCE)

Definition and objectives

Created on 07 July 1999 with the support of development partners in view of reducing the costs and time for the clearance of goods, the One-stop Shop of External Trade Operations (GUCE) is an economic interest grouping (EIG) associating the administration and the private sector and where import and export clearance transactions take place.

Operational since the 25 August 2000, it has as objective:

• the physical and/or virtual grouping of formalities relating to import/export operations in order to facilitate its functioning. Each stakeholder has a unit where the formalities are carried out within rigorously prescribed deadlines;
• the edition and dissemination of documents for the declaration of Cameroon\’s external trade operations in conjunction with the government departments and the operations concerned ;
• the management of an integrated computer system meant for the simplification of procedures ;
• all the supplementary or connected operations for a social objective and susceptible of improving effectiveness and efficiency ;
• the collection of complaints expressed by users in view of ameliorating the treatment of files.

It should be noted that this disposition is called upon to evolve towards an electronic one-stop shop.

Entities represented at the One-stop Shop

The following organisations, principal stakeholders of the passage of goods at the port, are physically or virtually grouped on the GUCE site:

• the Douala Autonomous Port (PAD) ;
• Customs ;
• Banks ;
• the General Surveillance Company (SGS) ;
• Customs revenue ;
• NSBC ;
• the phytosanitary service ;
• the exchange service.

c) The on-going evolution of the disposition towards the Electronic One-stop Shop

2 ÔÇô SPECIFIC CUSTOMS MEASURES FOR THE PROMOTION OF INVESTMENT

The simplification of customs procedures through the installation of the ASYCUDA ++ computer system which is a completely automated clearance system treating all customs operations;

• the putting in place of a Scanner device at the Douala Port which permits to ease circulation and reduce the passage time of containers in the port area;
• the combined management of the scanner and risk analysis methods;
• the effective application of the transaction value on alcohols and tobaccos stamped with the security label ;
• simplified procedures for the clearance of goods such as home visits, clearance procedures by the green canal, emergency procedures, direct removal and under ship’s tackle ;
• measures of changing the tariff category in favour of equipment goods meant for investment or reinvestment which induces the application of the reduced rate of 5% of the import customs duty;
• The other non tariff customs measures such as the institution of petitions in customs valuation, the implementation of the facilities provided for by the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the reduction of immediate controls in favour of posterior controls in the perspective of the implementation of the notion of approved operator.