The State budget explained simply

Key figures from the 2025 and 2026 budgets, how the budget is prepared and executed, public procurement and new tax measures, based on the official citizens' budgets.

RevenueExpenditurePlain language

Documents

Citizens' budgets

Every year, the Directorate-General of the Budget publishes a citizens' budget: the Finance Act explained in plain language, with its key figures.

Latest edition

Citizens' budget 2025

The State budget explained in plain language: revenue, expenditure, budget stages, public procurement and new tax measures.

Read online Download the PDF

Citizens' budget 2026: forthcoming

2026 Finance Act

Until the 2026 citizens' budget is published, the Finance Act passed for 2026 gives the official figures for the year. Its main figures are shown below.

Read the 2026 Finance Act

Previous editions

Key figures

2025 and 2026 in figures

In billion FCFA	2025	2026	Change
Revenue and grants	2,420.8	2,275	-6 %
Total expenditure	2,323.8	2,530.6	+8.9 %
Budget balance	+97	-255.6	—
Investment expenditure	977.5	1,177.8	+20.5 %
Public sector salaries	680.4	693.5	+1.9 %
Interest on debt	148.6	125.5	-15.6 %

Sources: 2025 citizens' budget and 2026 Finance Act (initial Finance Acts). In 2026, expenditure exceeds revenue: the gap is financed by borrowing and external support.

Assumptions behind the 2025 budget

4,2 %: GDP growth forecast for 2025
75 $: Brent price per barrel assumed ($85 in 2024)
625 FCFA: to the US dollar
151,023: barrels of oil produced per day

Priority sectors

543 billion · 23,4 %

of the 2025 budget devoted to health, education, agriculture, water and energy, women and early childhood, social action, livestock and the environment (507 billion in 2024).

Where does the 2,420.8 billion of 2025 revenue come from?

Compared with 2,016.1 billion in 2024

Taxes and duties 1,310.9 · 54 %including 800.8 billion from non-oil activities and 510.1 billion from oil companies
Other (non-tax) revenue 705.7 · 29 %including 483.5 billion in oil dividends and royalties
Grants and external support 404.2 · 17 %251.1 billion in budget support and 153.2 billion in project loans

On the spending side in 2025: 1,346.3 billion in current expenditure (salaries, operations, transfers, interest) and 977.5 billion in investment, of which 537.5 billion is financed by external partners and 440 billion from domestic resources.

Timetable

How the budget is prepared

1
Framing
February to June
Preparation is launched: macroeconomic framework, envelopes for each ministry, budget orientation debate.
Who is involved : Presidency, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Finance, institutions
2
Arbitration
July to September
Budget conferences with ministries, preliminary draft budget, adoption of the bill by the Council of Ministers.
Who is involved : Council of Ministers, budget committee
3
Vote
Second ordinary session
Parliament examines, amends and votes the State general budget and its annexes.
Who is involved : Parliament
4
Promulgation
By 31 December at the latest
The President of the Republic promulgates the Finance Act, which applies from 1 January.
Who is involved : President of the Republic

Timetable set by Order No. 642/PR/PM/2015 on the State budget calendar. Legal basis: Organic Law No. 004/PR/2014 on Finance Acts and the 2016 transparency code.

Execution

How the State pays its expenditure

The standard procedure, in 4 steps

The first two steps form the administrative phase, the last two the accounting phase. Everything is tracked in the integrated public finance management system (SIGFiP).

1/4
Commitment
Budget administrator
decides on the expenditure and records it in the SIGFiP system
2/4
Verification
Financial controller
checks that the service was delivered and sets the exact amount
3/4
Payment order
Delegated authorising officer
orders payment by issuing the payment warrant
4/4
Payment
Public treasurer
pays the supplier or the civil servant

Applies to : goods and services contracts above 30 million FCFA, consultancy services above 20 million and investment contracts above 50 million.

The simplified procedure, in 3 steps

Commitment and verification happen together, for current and recurring expenditure:

salaries and wages
mission costs and travel tickets
transfers to public bodies
State counterpart funds for externally financed projects
supplies already received

Public procurement

Working with the State

Documents required

Any company or individual, in N'Djamena or in the provinces, can become a State supplier if their papers are up to date (procurement code, article 128):

Registration in the trade register
Tax identification number (NIF)
Tax clearance and valid business licence
Certificate of non-bankruptcy
Bank account in the company's name
Certificate of non-exclusion from public procurement (ARMP)
Staff declared to the CNPS (social security)
Bid bond and insurance undertaking

How a call for tenders works

1The notice is published by the Directorate-General of Public Procurement; the company obtains the tender documents.
2It prepares a technical and a financial bid and submits them by the deadline.
3Bids are opened in public; a sub-committee assesses them against criteria published in advance.
4The best bid (quality and cost) is selected, the contract is signed and approved, and a work order starts the job.

Principles: open access to public procurement, equal treatment of bidders, transparent procedures.

Taxes

New tax measures in 2026

The 2026 Finance Act aims to raise more domestic revenue while supporting the private sector: e-invoicing for all, digital procedures, a broader tax base and action against fraud.

Read the 2026 tax circular PDF

E-invoicing for all

No public expenditure can be paid without a validated standardised e-invoice (FEN)
Mandatory for suppliers of the State, public bodies, NGOs and embassies
Only FEN invoices give the right to deduct and reclaim VAT

VAT and excise duties

VAT on e-commerce and digital services: platforms, advertising, cloud, streaming
VAT payable by flat-tax (IGL) taxpayers on any transaction above 50 million FCFA
Excise: 30% on tobacco, 20% on cosmetics containing hydroquinone, 50 FCFA per imported drink, 30% on imported dates

Lighter income tax

Each category of income is taxed separately: incomes are no longer added together
Property income and real-estate capital gains: 15% instead of 20%; rents: 10% instead of 15%
Investment income: 15% instead of 18%; 15% surcharge (30% for repeat cases) for unregistered taxpayers

Youth employment and investment

Tax credit of 30% of training costs for young people under 35 (35% if a trained female employee is promoted)
10-year exemption for creative and cultural industries set up from 2026
VAT removed on new solar equipment; special economic zones written into the tax code

Source: Circular No. 001/MFBEPCI/2026 on the application of the tax provisions of the 2026 Finance Act.

Glossary

Budget vocabulary

Finance Act: Law voted each year that authorises the State to collect revenue and commit expenditure. A supplementary Finance Act amends it during the year.
TOFE: Government financial operations table: a summary of the State's revenue, expenditure and means of financing. It shows the deficit and how it is covered.
Non-oil primary balance: Non-oil revenue minus expenditure excluding interest on debt. It measures the budget balance without oil rents: a negative figure means the State spends more than the rest of the economy brings in.
Net external financing: Loans and support received from foreign partners, minus external debt repayments made over the period.
Budget title: Broad category of expenditure by type: personnel, goods and services, transfers, investment, interest charges.
Transfers and subsidies: Sums paid by the State with no direct return: subsidies to public bodies and local authorities, scholarships, social assistance.
Externally financed investment: Investment expenditure financed by external partners (project loans and grants), entered in the State budget.
Interest charges: Interest paid on public debt.
Budget execution report: Document that compares, for a given period, the revenue and expenditure planned in the Finance Act with what was actually achieved.
Exploration permit: Authorisation to explore an area to discover a deposit, for a limited period. It does not allow production.
Production permit: Authorisation to extract and sell the resource from a discovered deposit, in return for taxes and royalties.
Production sharing contract: Petroleum contract in which the company finances exploration and production, recovers its costs from the oil extracted, then shares the remainder with the State.
Concession agreement: Regime in which the company operates the deposit and pays the State royalties and taxes on its income.
Royalty: Payment due to the State, calculated on the quantity or value of the resource extracted.

In billion FCFA

2025

2026

Change

Revenue and grants

2,420.8

2,275

-6 %

Total expenditure

2,323.8

2,530.6

+8.9 %

Budget balance

+97

-255.6

—

Investment expenditure

977.5

1,177.8

+20.5 %

Public sector salaries

680.4

693.5

+1.9 %

Interest on debt

148.6

125.5

-15.6 %

The State budget explained simply

Citizens' budgets

Citizens' budget 2025

2026 Finance Act

2025 and 2026 in figures

How the budget is prepared

Framing

Arbitration

Vote

Promulgation

How the State pays its expenditure

Working with the State

New tax measures in 2026

Budget vocabulary

The State budget explained simply

Citizens' budgets

Citizens' budget 2025

2026 Finance Act

2025 and 2026 in figures

How the budget is prepared

Framing

Arbitration

Vote

Promulgation

How the State pays its expenditure

Working with the State

New tax measures in 2026

Budget vocabulary