BÉNIN
WAIVER REQUIREMENTS
BESC
Bordereau Electronique de Suivi des Cargaisons
The Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa and it is bordered by TOGO to the West, NIGERIA to the East, BURKINA FASO to the North-North West and NIGER to the North-North East.
According to Benin Custom regulations numbered N°2006/060 and N° 038/MDCTTPU-PR/ DC/ SG/ CTTM/ CNCB/ SA, effective from December 28, 2006, all sea cargo shipped to Benin requires an BESC certificate.
Please be aware that a waiver document is needed for BENIN even though your cargo is in transit through Benin you will need a BESC document as well.
Some shipping lines may not load cargo without the BESC number. Cargo arriving without a BESC may be subject of fines and delays.
Port
- COTONOU
Documents and Information required
- Bill of Lading (Final B/L for validation)
- Commercial invoice: currency must be mentioned in $ or €.
- Freight invoice in the same currency (not needed in case the freight charges are mentioned on the commercial invoice)
- Export Customs Document
- Packing list
- Other: Country of origin + ETS (Estimated Time of shipping)
Additional information
- BESC number must be mentioned on the Master Bill of Lading and manifest of the carrier.
- The BESC number must be forwarded to the carrier.
- Vehicle Title (REQUIRED when shipping a vehicle)
Procedure
- Submit the required documents by email or online.
- You will be sent a draft and an invoice, typically within the same day.
- Once your payment has been received and you approve have the draft, validated certificate will be sent.
- If your cargo transits Benin to another Country, you will be required to get an BESC for both Countries.
Timeline
- The BESC must be validated before the vessel arrives at the destination. No regularization at destination port
- Since the BESC is validated by the authorities in the destination country, the process, from submitting a request to final validation, can take 3-5 days.
Penalties
- Loading of cargo that is not covered by an ECTN constitutes an infraction that will require the acting party to pay not only the regular fee, but also a penalty issued by the National Shippers Council of Benin (CNCB).
- The amount of the penalty is 50.000 FCFA per payable unit, in accordance with the tariff.
Quotation request
NOTE: Your information will only be used to send your quote within the following 24/48H
CTN Request
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