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The Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (abbreviated as ECTN) is a maritime certificate or waiver that is mandatory to export to most countries of Africa.

The ECTN is an essential document for importers and exporters in Africa, since it’s obligatory to present it to the customs officials, and in most countries, it must have been validated at least 5 days before the vessel arrives at the port. Failing to submit this waiver, or submitting the wrong one might lead to severe fines and other consequences, like the impossibility of clearing the cargo from customs.

African countries require this from shippers intending to effectively control, supervise and manage import/export traffic of the country. This way they know all about the cargo before it arrives at the destination port, giving more security to the country.

ECTN is known with different names depending on the country, but they are all the same waiver. We can also find it under the following names:


 * BESC (Bordereau Électronique de Suivi de Cargaisonis)
 * BSC (Bordereau de Suivi de Cargaisonis)
 * FERI (Fiche Électronique des Renseignements a l’Importation)
 * ACID (Advance Cargo Information Declaration)
 * CNCA (Conselho Nacional de Carregadores)

Description
The ECTN document is a standard-form certificate that allows customs and border officials to fully control shipments imported to their countries.

This marine document contains information relating to the cargo, including all the details of the exporter, importer, shipping method, value of the goods, name of the vessel, and cost of freight.

History
This marine waiver was created to give more protection to African countries, and give them an extra financial income. In Angola, for example, it has been compulsory to have the CNCA since 1994. After that more and more countries have joined the same system and keep doing it, like Egypt, a country that implemented their own ECTN certificate (ACID) in April 2021. Right now there are over 24 countries that use this system to track the shipments to their countries.

Roles and purposes of ECTN
The defenders of such a requirement contend the Electronic Cargo Tracking system helps Customs officials better manage the ports which are in poor condition. To have the prerequisite data of inflow and outflow of shipments from ports, support port executives in a great deal in managing port traffic, designate stevedoring personnel and allocating necessary unloading equipment so cargo vessels vacate the berth hastily. This is in great need in certain port in Africa which are otherwise crowded due to poor conditions.

Bringing ECTN certificates into effect has financial and security benefits too. The security interest is that the ECTN system provides thorough information about the commodity and all the parties involved in the transportation chain. Using the same system the authorities of the relevant country can authorize or deny entrance while the goods are still at the country of origin. In the way of financial benefit, which is viewed as the principal purpose of the ECTN, the system hinders the under-declared goods coming into the country. Reports show importers tend to avoid paying necessary tariffs by under-declaring the value of imported goods. BSC will increase the revenue of Customs because exporters will be asked to present the true value of the commodity.

Responsibilities
The shipper, his agent, or the freight forwarder is responsible to secure the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note from the various authorised representatives in the country of origin. Failing to present the certificate will lead to sanctions as explained in the next section.

Although the responsibility is solely on the shipper’s shoulders, the role and responsibility of every other involved party is unquestionably significant. While the importer needs to support the shipper by providing necessary documentation, the role of the Shipping line is to provide the Exporter with the transport document as soon as possible. It has also been published that shipping lines have the responsibility to inform the exporter of the need to apply for ECTN before issuing the Original Bills of Lading. The destination country officials can bestow fines to shipping companies for onboarding uncertified cargo.

Possible consequences for not obliging ECTN regulation
If the shipper or the exporter omits the CTN prior to loading of the vessel, he/she must be prepared to face heavy consequences. The Authorities of different destination countries take contrasting actions for violating the CTN regulation. Several to mention would be: The cargo can not be cleared at the import customs post. Daily demurrage/storage levy will be imposed on a daily basis. The shipping line will press the manifest amendment charge as well as costs for onboarding the containers without compulsory certification.

The customs officer has the power to press charges for breaching the BSC guidelines. This value can be up to 5 times the value of the goods being held. In rare cases, the exporters opt to abandon the parcel altogether, because it is more favorable than paying the enormous fine.

In 2017, a cargo consisting of 2x40HC containers arriving in Libreville, Gabon faced a penalty of up to Euro 40000 as the cargo couldn’t show the required BIETC certification.

Necessary documents to issue ECTN
Although it depends on the country, most of them require the following documents:


 * Bill of lading
 * Commercial Invoice
 * Freight Invoice (Mandatory if the freight value is not mentioned in the commercial invoice)

There are some countries that ask for other specific documents, like the following:
 * Documento Unico (DU)
 * Certificate of Insurance
 * Packing list
 * Certificate of Origin
 * Export Customs Declaration

List of countries that require ECTN

 * Angola
 * Benin
 * Burkina Faso
 * Burundi
 * Cameroon
 * Central African Republic
 * Chad
 * D.R. Congo
 * Egypt
 * Equatorial Guinea
 * Gabon
 * Ghana
 * Guinea Bissau
 * Guinea Conakry
 * Ivory Coast
 * Liberia
 * Libya
 * Madagascar
 * Mali
 * Niger
 * Republic of Congo
 * Senegal
 * Sierra Leone
 * South Sudan
 * Togo

Technical implementation by governments
Over the years there has been an upgrade in the ECTN system and process, and now all the applications are made completely online. All countries accept a digital form of the certificate, except Angola, which requires a hard copy of it.

Different names by country
This certificate is known by several names depending on the country, as you can see in the following list:

Burundi; Equatorial Guinea; South Sudan
 * ACID (Advance Cargo Information Declaration) --> Egypt
 * CTN (Cargo Tracking Note) -->Ghana; Liberia
 * BESC (Bordereau Électronique de Suivi de Cargaisonis) --> Benin; Cameroon.
 * ICTN --> Nigeria
 * ECTN (Electronic Cargo Tracking Note) --> Algeria; Republic of Chad; Togo; Guinea Conakry; Libya; Central African Republic; Republic of Congo; Burkina Faso;
 * BSC (Bordereau de Suivi de Cargaisonis) --> Ivory Coast; Senegal; Niger; Madagascar; Mali.
 * FERI (Fiche Électronique des Renseignements à l'Importation) --> Democratic Republic of Congo
 * CNCA (Conselho Nacional de Carregadores) --> Angola
 * BIETC (Bordereau d'Identification Electronique de Traçabilité des Cargaisons) --> Gabon
 * CEE (Certificado Electrónico de Embarque) --> Guinea Bissau
 * ENS --> Sierra Leone.