The Rainforests of Cameroon - PROFOR

148 Appendix 5The September 1997 agreement between the government andlogging operators• Fifteen percent reduction of the fob values provided by SGS-Forestryand Reuters that were used as the tax base for the felling tax andexport duties. This reduction was motivated by the fact that SGSand Reuters fob values reflected superior quality (Loyal Merchant)timber.• Reduction of the sawmill entry fee to 3 percent for factories undercommon law and 4 percent for special industrial free zone factories.Partial prohibition of log exports during the 1999 financial year• Export of traditional species (sapelli, sipo, iroko, and others) was prohibitedwhile export of species to be promoted and other lower commercialvalue species (ayous and azobé) was maintained.• The approval of an economic and financial audit of the forestry sector.The 2000–01 finance law (completed by the Decree 2001/1034/PM)• The floor price for UFAs was reduced from CFAF 1,500/ha/yearto CFAF 1,000/ha/year; the floor price for VCs was maintained atCFAF 2,500/ha/year.• A bank deposit guarantee of all fiscal and environmental obligations,equal to the amount of the RFA, became mandatory. As a consequence,3 of the 21 successful bidders for the July 2000 concessionauction lost their concession after failing to pay the bank guarantee.• Creation of a forest revenue redistribution system for local councilsand local communities (respectively 40 percent and 10 percent ofRFA revenues).• A sawmill entry fee of 2.25 percent of the fob value of timber enteringthe sawmill was established.• A 17.5 percent admission fee for timber entering sawmills locatedin the industrial free zone was instituted, causing most companies toabandon the free zone regime.• Export duties on processed timber were cancelled in compensationfor the increase of the area and the sawmill admission fees.• Changes in the rates of the surtax on exported logs introduced as follows:CFAF 4,000/m Delivered 3 for by The ayous, World CFAF Bank e-library 3,000/m to:3 for first categoryThe World Bankpromotion species (like azobé), IP : 192.86.100.34 and CFAF 500/m 3 for second categorypromotion species. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:06:18(c) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank