Gabon: the state suspends tax and customs exemptions granted by decision

According to the Ministry of Economy, Finance, Debt and Holdings, tax and customs exemptions granted by agreement or administrative decision represented, as of the end of July 2026, a loss of 209.239 billion CFA francs for customs and 74.038 billion CFA francs for the tax services, that is more than 283 billion CFA francs in total.

The measure announced on 8 September 2026 has two parts: no new tax or customs exemption may be granted, in any form, from the date the announcement is published, and benefits already granted by administrative decision are suspended until further notice. Exemptions provided for directly by law remain applicable, but will be reviewed in the next finance law.

The government announced the launch of an audit covering the period from 2023 to 2026, intended to measure the benefits actually obtained by the state in exchange for these advantages and to assess their budgetary impact before any decision to renew them.

This affects companies that benefited from an exemption scheme under a specific agreement, notably in certain special economic zones, which must now pay customs duties and taxes as normal on their import operations, while the audit determines the fate of each agreement.