Any cargo disembarked or on board at the port of Cotonou must be covered by a CGS.

This information was conveyed by the Director General of Customs and Indirect Rights through Service Note No. 4021/DGDDI/DLRI of 22 November 2017, in accordance with Order No.077/MIT/DC/SGM/PAC/CTJ/SA, establishing an Electronic Cargaison Tracking Border (ECSB) in the Republic of Benin.

Use of CGS is in line with the spirit of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, due to the almost instantaneous transmission of information and documents to the customs and port authorities of the country of destination, well before the arrival of the ships. The CGS allows the destination to initiate a cargo analysis, to define a level of security of the ships prior to their arrival, to increase the preservation of the ports against a terrorist attack and to put in place a better control of the value of the goods and cargo.

Consequently, the CGS having become an element of admissibility of any customs declaration, the Director General invited all Heads of Unit to the strict and rigorous application of this new provision.

C.Com.......