Bill No. 18/2025 amending Law No. 2008-46 establishing a fee for access to or use of the public telecommunications network (RUTEL) was approved by the deputies today.

In a working committee meeting yesterday, the Minister of Finance and Budget explained that Law No. 2008-46 of 3 September 2008 established a fee for access to or use of the public telecommunications network (RUTEL).

"Article 7 of the said law had established a suspension of the search for payment of customs duties and taxes applicable to imported fixed and mobile telephone devices, with the aim of democratizing access to telecommunications and stimulating the mobile penetration rate, thus reducing the digital divide which was a major concern at the time of the adoption of the law," he indicates.

For Cheikh Diba, this measure, although beneficial in the short term, has led to under-taxation of the telephone sector, in a context marked by strong growth in demand for telecommunications equipment.

Thus, within the framework of the implementation of the Economic and Social Recovery Plan (PRES) based mainly on the mobilization of domestic resources, "the option was taken to reactivate the import tax on fixed and mobile telephone devices."

Furthermore, the minister argued that the restoration of import taxation on telephone devices responds to a logic of conformity of Senegalese tax practice to the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which provides for the application of import duties on said devices.