All construction work in Cameroon requires a building permit. Authorisation to build is issued by the town hall of the council or by the urban council. Under Law 2004/003 of 21 April 2004 governing town planning in Cameroon and Decree 2008/0736/PM of 23 April 2008 to lay down the rules governing land use and construction in Cameroon, the process of obtaining a building permit has been considerably shortened, and the authorities are now required to respond to applications no later than 45 days after they are submitted. Moreover, the Ministry in charge of urban development and housing has published a guide to building permits, which clarifies the application framework that sets out the rules for land use and construction.: https://www.minhdu.gov.cm/en Compiling a building permit application file. For individuals who already own a building plot, applying for building permit is the first step before starting work.
The building permit application form can be obtained from the town hall in the council where the building is to be constructed. It must be stamped (a 1500 CFA francs fiscal stamp and two communal stamps). 5 copies of the application form must be completed by the landowner or an authorised representative, The owner must be in possession of certain documents relating to the property and the proposed construction: A recent planning and accessibility certificate issued by the council confirming that the land is suitable for building confirming that the land is suitable for building; A certificate of ownership dated less than 6 months issued by the Land Registry; A set of plans drawn up by an architect registered with the National Order of Cameroonian Architects; Ground plans (1:1000 scale) and location plans (1:2000 scale) approved by the Divisional Land Registry Office; The execution plans with details of the foundations, distribution, roofing, cross- sections, facades, pipes and drainage (at 1:50 scale);
Applicants for a building permit must pay the local town hall : − The fiscal stamp to be affixed to the application form (1000 CFAF) and the two communal stamps at the current rate; − 1% of the estimated cost of the building. In addition, you may also have to pay the architect who will draw up the plans and the estimated cost of the building. The architect may also be appointed to oversee the planning application. In this case, an additional fee will be charged for compiling the application and taking the necessary steps.
In the end, with a complete file, the administration should respond favourably within 45 days, as required by law, and issue the building certificate issue the building permit certificate Construction work must then begin within a maximum of 2 years, which leaves some time to choose a contractor and select the professionals who will work on the site. When the construction is complete, the local council issues a Certificate of Conformity, which confirms that the work complies with the description in the building permit.
It takes 72 hours to set up a company. Before applying to the CFCE to set up a business, you must first obtain a number
| For individuals | For legal entities |
|---|---|
| 1 certified copy of the national identity card or birth certificate for nationals. For foreign nationals, the passport or residence permit; | 2 Certified copies of the statutes of the future company; these may be drawn up by a notary or under private seal; |
| 1 excerpt from Bulletin No. 3 of the crimi- nal record for nationals. For foreign natio- nals, 01 excerpt from the criminal record issued in the country of origin or any other country. | 2 Copies of the declaration of com- pliance, or of the notarized declaration of payment subscription; |
| 1 marriage certificate for those who are married. | 2 certified lists of managers, directors or partners who are indefinitely and personally liable, or who have the power to bind the company; |
| 1 residence certificate | 1 prior authorisation to conduct business, where applicable; |
| 2 4X4 photographs with names written on the back; | 1 business location plan signed by the applicant. |
| Where applicable, prior authorization to operate the business; | |
| A business location plan signed by the applicant. |
| Bodies involved | Documents to be obtained | Amount required |
|---|---|---|
| Registry of the court of 1st instance | Registration in the Personal Property Credit Register | CFA 41,500 for individuals CFA 55,000 legal entity |
| National Social Insurance Fund | Attestation for submission to the NSIF | 9.000 FCFA |
| Taxation Centre | Attestation of non-use of sala- ried staff | 2.500 FCFA |
| Patent exemption certificate | 0 FCFA | |
| Enregistrement contrat de bail | 10% of the annual amount of the lease declared for a tenant promoter | |
| 0.11% property value for an It is aloso possible owner |
Request stamped at the current rate, accompanied by four copies, addressed to the minister in charge of industry mentioning : Surname, forenames, place of residence, filiation and nationality in the case of a natural person; The name or corporate name, legal form, address of the registered office, composition of the capital, if applicable, and the capacity of the person signing the application, in the case of legal entities; The place where the establishment is located The nature and volume of the activities that the promoter proposes to carry out, as well as the nomenclature heading(s) under which the establishment is to be classified;
According to the Bill No. 2017/6525PM of 07 June 2017 laying down the modalities of application of Law No. 2016/004 of 18 April 2016 governing foreign trade in Cameroon, in its sections 5,6 and 7 stipulates that: The application for registration on the importers/ exporters register must be sent to the Minister in charge of foreign trade and must include the following documents:
Before engaging in an import or export operation, the economic operator must have an identifier called a customs code and a tax identification number. Documents required to obtain a taxpayer number include the following: This file may be supplemented, on request, by an Non indebtedness certificate (ANR) which certifies that the taxpayer does not owe any tax to the tax authorities. The file elements to obtain the Tax payers registration number includes:
| In case of individual | In the case of a legal entity |
|---|---|
| Registry of the court of 1st instance | Registration in the Personal Property Credit Register |
| 1. A stamped and signed application form | 1. stamped and signed application for authorization |
| A certified copy of the passport and residence permits | The identity of the main executives (chairman of the board of directors, managing director, general manager, same ranking manager or other similar position) of the company or group promoting the company to be incorporated (a certified copy of the passport and residence permit and an excerpt from the criminal record); |
| A detailed business plan for the proposed activity; | A notarised copy of the bylaws of the company promoting the project; |
| A police criminal record certificate; | A Bank account identifier code issued by the company promoting the project (if applicable); |
| . A location certificate or plan; | Other professional activities carried out by the promoter, particularly on Cameroonian territory; |
| A certificate of affiliation of workers to the NSIF(APS and DIPE) in the case of applications for regularisation; | A certificate of non-indebtedness from the promoting company (if applicable); |
| A certificate of subscription to a mailbox issued by CAMPOST; | An attestation and a location plan (if applicable); |
| An attestation of bank account opening; | A certificate of affiliation of workers to the NSIF (APS and DIPE or ANUPS), in the case of applications for regularisation; |
| A commercial lease, if applicable | A notarised undertaking to carry out activities as a trader in Group I; |
| A notarised undertaking to take out professional insurance; | |
| A notarised undertaking to contribute to vocational training in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulations; | |
| An undertaking to establish the company’s registered office and to keep its accounts; | |
| A detailed business plan for the proposed activity; | |
| A professional lease agreement or title deed (if applicable); | |
| Application forms for approval or registration can also be obtained from the website of the Ministry of Commerce, https://www.mincommerce.cm/fr |
Operations under the Pre-Shipment Import Conformity Assessment Programme (PECAE) are carried oout on behalf of state by accredited and duly approved bodies, namely Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) S.A. and INTERTEK INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, under the supervision of the Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR). The procedure for obtaining a certificate of conformity is as follows:
Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status enables any company involved in international trade to acquire a quality label for the customs and security-safety processes it implements. Specifically, AEO status aims to “label”certain companies as safe and reliable, with guarantees transparency, financial soundness and security.
Following a request from the company, the customs authorities carry out an in-depth analysis of the application, either via the relevant departments or with the external services of a specialist firm, ,based on criteria laid down by the customs authorities and the company’s declarations. In light of the analysis results, a response is sent to the company toaccept or refuse eligibility for this status.
The certificate of origin or movement certificate attests to the origin of the goods. importers must obtain a certificate of origin from their supplier if they are required to do so, or if they believe it will help them benefit from preferential tariffs. Under free trade agreements, Cameroon grants dutyfree entry to products originating from other CEMAC countries, subject to compliance with the rules of origin, and to certain products from the European Union.
Products originating in the EU and covered by EPA benefits may be eligible for these benefits on presentation, when imported into Cameroon, of a EUR.1-CMR movement of goods certificate, which may be obtained from the custom authorities of the EU Member state or certain chambers commerce, or an invoice declaration.
Invoice declarations may be made by “approved exporters” or in the case of products originating in the EU whose total value does not exceed EUR 6,000. Cameroon does not accept a declaration of origin only
Under the CEMAC/CEEAC free trade area, importers wishing to benefit from the preferential tariff for products originating in the comunity must obtain a from their supplier the Decision of the CEMAC Council of Ministers or the CEEAC Commission approving the product for the Community’s preferential tariff. This document must be presented to the customs services during the customs clearance process.
Approval procedures for the CEMAC and ECCAS preferential tariffs have been harmonised. Accordingly, files sent to the CEMAC Commission by the Minister of Trade are also systematically sent to the ECCAS Commission. Pursuant to procedures in force, the ECCAS Commission grants approval following a favourable opinion from the meeting of Ministers. The CEMAC preferential tariff approval application procedure has 8 main steps procedures :
Under the AfCFTA agreement, provisions have been made to ensure access for “Made in Cameroon” products to the continental market. List of documents required at the Main Customs Office for the issue of the Certificate of Origin, including:
Coffee and cocoa production, processing, marketing and export activities are governed in Cameroon by the following regulations: Law No. 2004/025 of 30 December 2004 amending and supplementing certain provisions of Law No 95/11 of 27 July 1995 on the organisation of the trade of cocoa and coffee and its corresponding enforcement decrees. The following files are required for exporting cocoa and coffee.
At the beginning of the production cycle, any plant producer planning to export his produce must submit a request for a phytosanitary inspection so that he can be issued an Export Phytosanitary Certificate, to MINADER’s devolved services in his locality. Procedures for sanitary inspection and treatment is as follows.
To export timber, it is now necessary to obtain a certificate of registration, which was intended to verify that 70 per cent of production was processed locally and only 30 percent of the annual harvest exported in log form. Procedures for log and processed timber export includes the following items:
