The finance ministry of Chad has decreed that equipment related to telecom and internet services, including network equipment, devices, modems and routers, are exempt from import duties and taxes for the next five years.
The tax break is aimed at stimulating uptake of digital services by reducing the cost barrier to the public and thereby fostering a more active digital economy. TeleGeography reports that the high cost of mobile devices is frequently cited as a factor behind the low penetration rates of digital services in Chad and much of Africa.
High tariffs have also been an issue in Chad, to the extent that a delegation of senior government ministers – including the country’s Head of State General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno and the president of Chad’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Post (ARCEP) – earlier this month met with the CEOs of Airtel Chad and Moov Africa Chad to press them on the matter and call for lower rates.
