Togo Introduces 'Code 26' to Track Free Zone Imports, Improve Data

Public finance

Thursday, 11 December 2025 16:55

Togo Introduces 'Code 26' to Track Free Zone Imports, Improve Data

(Togo First) - Togo's revenue authority, the Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR), has introduced a new customs code known as “Code 26” to regulate goods imported into the country’s free trade zone. The measure, announced in an official notice in early December, aims to improve the tracking of goods flows and enhance the reliability of collected data.

According to OTR Commissioner General Yawa Djigbodi Tsègan, the new code will automate the processing of shipping manifests through the single window for foreign trade (GUCE), ensure compliance with filing deadlines, limit manual corrections, speed up the clearance of advance declarations, and generate more accurate statistics on imports intended for the free zone.

The free zone operates under special customs and tax regimes, including exemptions or suspensions of duties and taxes, designed to promote investment, industrial development, and exports. With Code 26, the OTR will be able to more clearly distinguish goods covered by this regime from ordinary imports, which improves tracking, strengthens oversight, and reduces risks of error, fraud, or misuse.

The measure also benefits businesses by clarifying procedures and streamlining customs operations.

It forms part of a broader effort to modernize and streamline the framework governing the free zone in order to enhance both business competitiveness and the state’s fiscal security. In the long term, it may help attract more investment, support industrialization, and strengthen the country's export capacity.

Esaïe Edoh

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