Incentives and taxation

The national framework is based on Law No. 15/98 of 23 July 1998 establishing the Investment Charter. According to the analysis published by Institut Concorde, it guarantees in particular freedom to do business without discrimination based on nationality, property rights including intellectual property, and the transfer of capital and profits, subject to foreign exchange rules. At regional level, the CEMAC Investment Charter (Regulation No. 17/99/CEMAC-020-CM-03 of 17 December 1999) commits member states to strengthen legal certainty, simplify formalities and modernise their tax and customs administrations.

According to PwC (summary reviewed on 6 August 2026), investors can fall under three frameworks offering customs and tax advantages: the ordinary regime, privileged regimes and agreed regimes negotiated with the State.

The PwC tax summary, reviewed on 6 August 2026, lists the following incentives:

• New companies: exemption from the lump-sum minimum tax and the minimum corporate income tax for the first two years of operation.
• Industrial capacity expansion: a reduced customs duty rate of 5% on imported equipment, for an investment of at least 100 million CFA francs.
• Capital investment companies: corporate income tax exemption on investment income and capital gains on share disposals; a three-year exemption for companies working in biodiversity research, pharmaceutical innovation, ecotourism, processing of local raw materials, telecoms and IT innovation, or agribusiness.
• Social housing: exemption from customs duties on imported materials and equipment, and exemptions from corporate income tax, value added tax (VAT) and business licence tax for approved companies.
• Tourism: corporate income tax exemption for the first three years for hotels investing at least 300 million CFA francs; a 5% tax credit over three years below that threshold.

According to the final communiqué published by Gabonactu, the Council of Ministers of 23 October 2025 also announced that any investor contributing at least 10 billion CFA francs will be granted a ten-year permanent resident card.

Companies located in the Nkok special economic zone historically benefited from exemptions of up to ten years. The 2021 amending finance law limited to five years at most the exemptions granted to companies newly setting up in the Nkok zone and in other privileged regime zones, without affecting contracts already in force (ATIBT, 26 November 2021). The zone operator, GSEZ, states that an on-site one-stop shop handles formalities. Precise eligibility conditions should be confirmed with the zone authority.

2026 finance law (Law No. 041/2025 of 29 December 2025). According to Deloitte's summary, it makes standardised electronic invoicing mandatory for companies subject to corporate income tax or VAT, makes expense deductions and VAT recovery conditional on such invoices, raises several withholding tax rates (see the table), reforms the business licence tax calculation and moves some goods from exemption or reduced rates to higher VAT rates.

2026 amending finance law. Adopted by Parliament in July 2026 according to Gabonmediatime, it provides in particular for the gradual roll-out of electronic invoicing with a tax credit for equipment, VAT registration for foreign providers of digital services, a carbon contribution for air and sea operators and stricter rules on exemptions granted by agreement.

2027 draft finance law. According to Gabonmediatime, the draft, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 18 September 2026 and still to be voted, provides from 2027 for a 5% VAT floor and minimum taxation equal to 25% of ordinary taxation for advantages granted by agreement or individually, except for regimes expressly retained by law. Tax stability clauses would be reviewed every five years.

Gabon has signed double taxation treaties that reduce withholding taxes. PwC mentions treaties with Belgium, Canada, China, France, Italy and Morocco (for example 15% on dividends and 10% on interest and royalties with France). Gabonese taxation also follows CEMAC directives: the 2022 VAT directive, which sets a minimum registration threshold of 30 million CFA francs, and the directive of 9 January 2025 on taxation of profits and income. Customs duties follow the CEMAC common external tariff and customs code.