Benin: SBIN will not pay entry duties and taxes on equipment for its national Internet network project
February 16th 2024
The Beninese Digital Infrastructure Company (SBIN) will benefit from an exemption from entry duties and taxes on equipment for the project to extend its telecoms network throughout the national territory. The public company was granted approval for the specific investment regime for the said project during the Council of Ministers on Wednesday February 14.
The exemption granted by the specific investment regime does not concern the road tax, the statistical tax, the customs stamp, the community levy (PC), the community solidarity levy (PCS) and the solidarity levy (PS) .
Through this initiative, the Beninese government intends to “ make a stable and reliable Internet connection available ” throughout the national territory as part of efforts to accelerate the country’s digital transformation and make it a driver of socio-economic development. . A budget of 24.3 billion CFA francs ($39.7 million) has been planned for the projects of the Ministry of Digital and Digitalization for the 2024 financial year, compared to 31 billion FCFA in 2023.
The initiative will therefore facilitate the expansion of the SBIN national network. This is expected to help improve the coverage and adoption of Internet connectivity in Benin. According to data from the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (ARCEP), SBIN dominates the fixed Internet market with 19,154 subscribers out of 24,641 in the first quarter of 2023.
It should also allow its mobile telephone subsidiary, Celtiis, to reach millions of people in order to increase its market share against competitors like MTN Benin and Moov Africa Benin. According to ARCEP statistics, the company had around 1.7 million mobile subscribers at the end of the third quarter of 2023. This gives it a market share of 10.52%, compared to 34.06% for Moov. Africa and 55.42% for MTN. In the mobile Internet market, it had 423,610 subscribers in the first quarter out of a total of 10.14 million.
Source: Agency EcoFin
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