“Insurance has increased, technical control and now windscreen license but salaries remain stagnant. 2023 will indeed be tough,” Naselme Elysée cries out after reading about the 100% increase in windscreen license fees in 2023 according to the 2023 finance law.
Over the years, prices of windscreen licenses have not stopped increasing and the 2020 reforms have not helped matters. F CFA 2.5 billion was lost in 2019 due to the manual recovery process which was in place then. Thus the government in 2020 introduced new windscreen license fee collection means in collaboration with insurance companies and prices increased.
Bikes and tricycles paid F CFA 2,000 each, while other cars paid between F CFA 5,000-100,000. In line with Article 594 of the taxation code, windscreen licenses must be paid by all bikes and vehicle users in the public and private transport sector. In the 2023 finance law, private car owners will endure a 33-100% price increase from F CFA 25,000 – 50,000 while public transport windscreen license fees remain unchanged. “Salaries are same but taxes keep increasing. I fear corruption will skyrocket in 2023,” Steve Tango complains.
Windscreen license is a form of road pricing imposed on vehicles, usually in addition to the compulsory road tax, based on a period of time the vehicle may use the road, instead of toll gates which are situated at various points on the road and are used during long- distance journeys.
If many foresee an inflation in 2023, customs officials rather see the vehicle business as a lucrative source of income for the taxation office. Going by the General Directorate of Customs, car importation is the first source of customs revenue in Cameroon as in 2021 customs gained 201.5 billion FCFA on car imports.
The 2023 state budget worth F CFA 6 345.1 billion has been validated by the National Assembly with little or no amendments.
