Cameroon makes VAT on goods due when an advance payment is received

What changed in detail

Section 23 of Cameroon’s Finance Law for 2026 (Law No. 2025/012 of 17 December 2025) amends Section 134(1)(a) of the General Tax Code, which fixes when VAT becomes payable (exigibilité).

Before the change, VAT on supplies of goods was payable when the chargeable event took place, that is, on delivery, even if the customer had paid part of the price earlier. For services, VAT was already payable on receipt of payment, including advances.

The amended text keeps the general rule for goods but adds: “However, in case of an advance payment, the tax shall be payable at the time of receipt, up to the amount received.” The rest of Section 134 is unchanged.

The DGI circular published in the same official edition of the tax code explains that the change aligns goods with services and that suppliers must issue an advance-payment invoice showing the VAT separately.

The amendment applies with the 2026 financial year, from 1 January 2026.

What it means

The rule is in force for 2026 and no later instrument recorded here changes it. Suppliers that take deposits, such as on vehicles, equipment or construction materials, now declare VAT in the month the deposit arrives rather than the month of delivery, so their billing and VAT return processes need to capture advances as taxable events.

The balance remains taxable on delivery. If an order is cancelled after a deposit is taxed, the supplier needs the general correction rules to recover the VAT already paid.