Telecel Centrafrique has reportedly been forced by the Central African Republic’s Ministry of Finance and Budget to close its offices over US$4.4 million in unpaid taxes.
According to local media reports, the dispute is centred around the government’s implementation in February of a 7% tax on final calls, which is stipulated under the new finance law passed last year.
Since the tax was implemented, Telecel has allegedly refused to pay the new tax, and has consequently racked up 689 million CFA francs (US$1.13 million) in unpaid bills. That in turn has contributed to a total tax liability of around 2 billion CFA francs (US$3.3 million).
The ministry has responded by ordering Telecel Centrafrique to shut its offices until it pays up. Telecel has not yet said publicly whether it will comply, or what the office closures mean for its service operations. According to Ecofin Agency, Telecel Centrafrique customers have been complaining about poor service quality over the past few days.
Telecel claims to be the biggest mobile operator in the CAR in terms of subscriber numbers and turnover. Its main competition in the CAR include incumbent operator Socatel, Orange, Moov Africa and Azur. According to GSMA Intelligence, there were 1.86 million active cellular mobile connections in the country in early 2024, equivalent to 32% of the total population.
