Cameroon Eyes Import Tax on Gas Cylinders to Boost Local Manufacturing

By A.J.

The Cameroonian government is proposing a 12.5 percent excise duty on imported empty domestic gas cylinders, as part of the 2026 Finance Bill submitted to Parliament on November 26, 2025.

If approved, this levy is expected to push distributors away from foreign suppliers by raising the cost of imported cylinders, while at the same time boosting domestic producers.

Cameroon’s first local gas-cylinder factory became operational in 2022, when Prometal Group launched production at its plant in the Douala-Bassa industrial zone.

With a 12 billion-CFA-franc investment, the facility has an annual production capacity of 600,000 cylinders.

Local demand for empty cylinders is estimated at between 450,000 and 500,000 units per year, meaning domestic manufacturers could feasibly meet internal needs and even have surplus for export once the market adapts.

Before 2021, all domestic-use gas cylinders in Cameroon were imported.

The proposed tax aims to recover an estimated 8 billion-CFA-franc market previously filled by imports.

Observers say the strategy aligns with the government’s broader import-substitution agenda: by discouraging certain imports and promoting domestic industrial capacity, Cameroon hopes to spur job creation, reduce foreign-exchange outflows, and foster a nascent manufacturing sector.

As things stand, much depends on whether Parliament approves the provision in the Finance Bill without amendment, and whether local producers can effectively sustain supply and maintain quality as demand shifts.