Page History

28.04.2020

Expedited measures adopted by the Directorate General of Customs to manage the
COVID-19 pandemic

The Directorate General of Customs has adopted a number of expedited measures aimed at
supporting economic activities as part of the Government’s response to the COVID-19
pandemic.

These measures are aimed at adapting formalities and procedures to the challenging
circumstances of this pandemic, and fall under the following headings:

- streamlining of Customs clearance formalities and acceleration of the Customs
clearance procedure;

- reorganization of Customs services;

- Economic Support Plan.

I. STREAMLINING OF FORMALITIES AND ACCELERATION OF THE CUSTOMS
CLEARANCE PROCEDURE

- option for economic operators to send correspondence and applications to e-mail
addresses that have been provided for this purpose, so that these documents can be
handled electronically and visits to Customs services can be reduced;

- acceptance of documents forwarded electronically (invoices, bills of lading,
certificates of origin, insurance certificates, etc.) as valid for Customs clearance
purposes;

- secure access to the Automated Customs Clearance System (SYDAM) via any
Internet connection, for both economic operators and Customs clearing agents; the
aim of this change is to facilitate remote working by allowing Customs operations to
be completed from a computer workstation without needing to visit an office;

- suspension of the requirement for certain documents within the framework of
documentary checks (cargo tracking note, verification of conformity, etc.);

- reduction in the number of documents required for the handling of VAT credit refunds,
in particular through the suspension of the requirement to produce a declaration
of payment in the country of destination or the TIF (International Rail Transit)
document;

- streamlining of the procedure for handling sensitive goods in transit (five stages
instead of seven), with the transfer of certain checks and authorizations normally
carried out by the Director or Sub-Director of Economic Regimes to the Head of the
Transit and Certificates Office;

- option for consignees to forward manifests electronically (in PDF format) to the
competent Customs services, using the following e-mail addresses:

o dsdpssmanifeste@douanes.ci (for the Autonomous Port of Abidjan);

o drsanpedromanifeste@douanes.ci (for the Port of San Pedro);

o dsamanifeste@douanes.ci (for Abidjan Airport).

Measures implemented for the purpose of accelerating Customs clearance procedures
include the following:

- option for operators to unload sensitive goods directly from the vessel upon
presentation of a bill of lading or air waybill stamped by the Customs services;

- increase in the number of approved Customs brokers eligible for the permanent and
automatically validated release of goods imported by air on the basis of provisional
notes; prior to the outbreak of the crisis, one operator was eligible (BOLLORE
Transport & Logistics) – three others are now eligible (DHL CI, Transit Transport
Services (TTS) and Packing Service);

- extension of the deadline for settling provisional notes for the release of perishable
goods and basic foodstuffs imported by air from 5 days to 15 days;

- changes to the selection criteria aimed at increasing the number of declarations
eligible for expedited circuits, namely release notes (green circuit) and non-intrusive
controls (scanner-based controls);
- suspension of wharf checks for high-risk imports or exports, and the replacement of
these checks with home visits;

- reduction in the deadline (48 hours instead of five days) for issuing valuation
documents for urgent shipments, foodstuffs, perishable products and industrial inputs;

- option for users to submit accounting documents directly to SYDAM World.

II. REORGANIZATION OF CUSTOMS SERVICES

The following measures have been implemented in keeping with the provisions of the Decree
enacted by the Minister for Civil Service:

- changes to working hours:

o Customs clearance, collection, inspection and support services: 08:00 to

14:00/Monday-Friday;

o surveillance services at ports, the airport, the Intervention and Research
Group (GIRA), the Mobile Rapid Intervention Unit (UMIR) and Regional
Directorates: around the clock;

- introduction of a rota system based on the double vacation system in order to ensure
that officials can observe social distancing at a minimum of one (1) metre;

- round-the-clock access to the Automated Customs Clearance System (SYDAM);

- scaled-back service for the urgent handling of goods covered by a prior import
authorization;

- office opening hours extended beyond 16:00 on working days and Saturday opening
for export operations; full containers are handled around the clock, and the scanner is
operational at all times;

- designation of certain offices at land borders to serve as economic corridors with a
view to avoiding any interruption in the supply of basic necessities to the national
market; these include:

o eastern border: offices at Takikro and Noé;

o northern border: offices at Ouangolodougou and Pogo;

o western border: office at Sipilou.

III. ECONOMIC SUPPORT PLAN

Measures provided for under the Government’s Economic, Social and Humanitarian Support
Plan for businesses include:

- suspension of post-clearance audits and current court proceedings instigated on the
basis of such audits for a period of three (3) months;

- exemption from import duties and taxes levied by Customs on health equipment,
materials and other health inputs related to the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Director General of Customs has adopted the following regulatory acts as a framework
for the implementation of these facilitating measures:

- Decision No. 052/MPMBPE/DGD of 23 March 2020 on the establishment of a
Monitoring Committee;

- Memorandum No. 053/MPMBPE/DGD of 25 March 2020 on the functioning of
Customs services during the COVID-19 crisis;

- Decision No. 053/MPMBPE/DGD of 26 March 2020 on the establishment of a Crisis
Committee for the duration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic;

- Circular No. 2077/MPMBPE/DGD of 31 March 2020 on measures to facilitate
Customs procedures for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic;

- Circular No. 2078/MPMBPE/DGD of 6 April 2020 on the suspension of postclearance audits for a period of three (3) months;

- Circular No. 2079/MPMBPE/DGD of 6 April 2020 on streamlining of the procedure for
issuing Customs compliance certificates for refunds of VAT credits;

- Circular No. 2080/MPMBPE/DGD of 6 April 2020 on approved Customs brokers
eligible for the permanent release procedure on the basis of provisional notes;

- Circular No. 2081/MPMBPE/DGD of 6 April 2020 on the electronic filing of manifests.