Transit Trade : Chad and Cameroon on a common front
The difference between conventional and non-conventional transit trade is based on the fact that the former is a regime of transport between two countries found in the same sub-region (e.g., the Douala-Ndjamena Corridor) whereas the latter is practised between two countries in different sub-regions. It is the case with Nigeria where some goods bound for Chad pass through Cameroon and vice-versa.
It was to discuss the difficulties obstructing the smooth flow of transit trade that the General Managers of the customs of Chad and Cameroon and their respective experts came together last week in Yaounde for two days.
Bilateral consultation was on the theme: «Management of non-conventional transit trade: what stakes for the two countries?». According to the General Manager of the Cameroon Customs, Edwin FONGOD NUVAGA, the aim of this consultation was to fight against fraud, countraband and the securement of fiscal and customs revenue.
Concretely, it was about agreeing on a common procedure that will secure and clarify non-conventional transiting of cargo from Chad and Nigeria through Cameroon, in view of optimizing economic and fiscal results; identify three or four legal and direct routes for non-conventional transit trade; Agree on a period of time for the movement of goods and reduce the hassles that economic operators are forced to bear.
Dialogue between the two administrations likewise dwelled on extending the Nexus+ interconnection system to Chadian Customs. The General Manager explained that some business men take advantage of the non-payment of custom duties on transiting goods to fraudulently dump goods in Cameroon. The General Manager of Chadian Customs, Idriss ANNOUR ABDELKERIM, on his part, condemned the fact that non-conventional transit trade has increased with the intrusion of Boko Haram. This to him has prompted all sorts of traffic in the sub-region. “This situation is negatively affecting the economies of our two countries. It is of utmost importance for our two administrations to organize this regime of transport” he concluded.
(Source/ Cameroon Tribune N 11462 of 30 October 2017)