What is the Burkina Faso ECTN (Burkina ECTN)?
The Burkina Faso ECTN, also searched as the Burkina ECTN or the Burkina Faso BESC, is the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note of the Conseil Burkinabè des Chargeurs (CBC). Joint order N°2009-0012/MT/MEF of 15 September 2009 created it and repealed the earlier cargo tracking note (BSC). Every Bill of Lading or multimodal transport document for Burkina Faso must be covered by at least one Burkina Faso ECTN, and its number must be quoted on the customs declaration. Because Burkina Faso is landlocked, cargo is discharged at a coastal port such as Abidjan, Tema, Lomé or Cotonou and continues overland to Ouagadougou; the CBC has representations in all four. The CBC accepts no regularisation in Burkina Faso, at those representations or at its border offices for goods that arrive without a Burkina Faso ECTN.
New to the ECTN? Read what an ECTN is, and CTN meaning in shipping for the cargo tracking note that 30 African and Middle East destinations ask for in one form or another.
Other names for the Burkina Faso ECTN
One instrument, several names. For Burkina Faso the filing is the ECTN — Electronic Cargo Tracking Note. The same certificate is also referred to as BESC (Bordereau Électronique de Suivi de Cargaison), and Burkina ECTN, and a request for one is a request for the other. If your importer or your carrier has asked for a name that is not on this page, send it to us with the Bill of Lading and we will confirm which filing they mean.
Burkina Faso ECTN: Abidjan, Tema, Lomé and Cotonou
The Burkina Faso ECTN covers cargo whose final destination is Burkina Faso, whatever the port of discharge: Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Tema (Ghana), Lomé (Togo) or Cotonou (Benin), the four ports where the CBC has representations. Tell us the port of discharge and the final destination when you send the Bill of Lading, so we can check whether the transit country asks for its own document as well.
Burkina Faso ECTN sources
The Burkina Faso ECTN rules on this page come from the official notices of the Conseil Burkinabè des Chargeurs (CBC).
- CBC: joint order N°2009-0012/MT/MEF and notices N°2013/071 and N°2023-0026 (URN on the Bill of Lading)
- CBC: Burkina Faso ECTN agents and the CBC ECTN application
accessed
Burkina Faso ECTN: URN on the Bill of Lading
The CBC sets no day count for the Burkina Faso ECTN, but two official rules fix the timing. Since 20 April 2023 the Burkina Faso URN must be printed on the Bill of Lading, and the Burkina Faso ECTN can only be initiated from the port of loading, with no regularisation once the cargo is in Burkina Faso. File it as soon as the booking and the draft Bill of Lading are settled, before the original B/L is issued.
Who files the Burkina Faso ECTN
Only the shipper or the freight forwarder at the port of loading can initiate a Burkina Faso ECTN. It is created in the CBC ECTN application and validated by the CBC agent for that port; the consignee in Burkina Faso then quotes the ECTN number on the customs declaration.
How to get the Burkina Faso ECTN, step by step
According to the customs regulations of Burkina Faso, every cargo shipment purchased from abroad and transported for commercial, business, diplomatic, or personal purposes requires a validated Loading Certificate:
- ▪Send the draft Bill of Lading, the commercial invoice and the freight invoice; for vehicles add the grey card or pink slip. The CBC refuses the visa for any Burkina Faso ECTN request filed without these attachments (CBC notice N°2013/071, in force since 1 January 2014).
- ▪We check that the freight costs, the nature and the value of the goods match across the documents, because the CBC does not validate a Burkina Faso ECTN whose figures look wrong. The vessel entered must be the ocean (mother) vessel named on the Bill of Lading, never a feeder.
- ▪You approve the draft; the Burkina Faso ECTN certificate is filed from the port of loading in the CBC ECTN application and validated by the CBC agent.
- ▪The Burkina Faso URN is passed to the shipping line so that it is printed on the Bill of Lading. Once granted, the Burkina Faso ECTN can only be changed through a correction request.
Burkina Faso ECTN: validity and amendments
A validated ECTN is issued against one shipment: one Bill of Lading, one vessel, one voyage, one consignee. It does not carry over to your next shipment and it carries no renewal date. If the shipment changes, the certificate has to change with it — and what can be amended after validation, and at what cost, is set by the destination authority. Corrections to the draft before filing cost nothing, which is why we send you the draft first.
What happens without a valid Burkina Faso ECTN?
Cargo arriving without a validated ECTN is generally not released at Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Lomé (Togo) or Tema (Ghana): customs clearance delays, storage and demurrage accruing daily, and regulatory fines until a valid certificate is presented. The demurrage is often the larger of the two numbers, and it is the one that grows while the paperwork is corrected.
What a Burkina Faso ECTN costs
Two lines, quoted separately. The first is the statutory charge the destination authority sets for registering the certificate — it belongs to the authority, not to us, and it varies by destination and shipment profile. The second is our service fee for preparing the file, checking it against the published requirements, filing it and handling any query. Neither is a percentage of your cargo value. Both are fixed and shown before anything is filed, so the invoice you approve is the invoice you pay.
Burkina Faso ECTN: latest notices and articles
Burkina Faso ECTN certificate questions
What is the Burkina Faso ECTN?
It is the BESC (Bordereau Électronique de Suivi de Cargaison) of the Conseil Burkinabè des Chargeurs (CBC), required under joint order N°2009-0012/MT/MEF for all cargo arriving by sea with Burkina Faso as its final destination. It is also called the Burkina ECTN, the Burkina Faso BESC or the Burkina Faso ECTN certificate.
Burkina Faso is landlocked — which ports handle its cargo?
Cargo for Burkina Faso is discharged at Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Tema (Ghana), Lomé (Togo) or Cotonou (Benin) and moves overland to Ouagadougou. The Burkina Faso ECTN is required whichever of these ports is used.
Which documents are required for a Burkina Faso ECTN certificate?
The CBC makes three attachments mandatory: the commercial invoice, the freight invoice and, for vehicles, the grey card or pink slip; a request without them is refused. We also ask for the draft Bill of Lading and the packing list to check the data.
When should the Burkina Faso ECTN be issued?
Before the original Bill of Lading is issued, because since 20 April 2023 the Burkina Faso URN must be printed on it. The CBC accepts no regularisation in Burkina Faso, so the Burkina Faso ECTN has to be filed from the port of loading.
What happens without a valid ECTN for Burkina Faso?
The Burkina Faso ECTN is an obligatory document for customs clearance. The CBC accepts no regularisation in Burkina Faso, at its representations in Abidjan, Lomé, Cotonou and Tema or at border offices for goods without one, and an ECTN with manifestly wrong data is treated as void at destination.
What is the Burkina Faso URN?
The URN is the reference number of the Burkina Faso ECTN. CBC notice N°2023-0026/CBC/DG/DSI/oem requires it on the Bill of Lading of all cargo bound for Burkina Faso since 20 April 2023.
Is the Burkina ECTN the same as the Burkina Faso BESC?
Yes. Burkina ECTN, Burkina Faso ECTN certificate and Burkina Faso BESC all mean the same CBC document. The older paper BSC was replaced by the electronic BESC in 2009.
Can a Burkina Faso ECTN be corrected or refused?
Once granted, a Burkina Faso ECTN can only be changed through a correction request. If the CBC refuses an ECTN because the freight, the nature or the value of the goods looks wrong, this is not a loading ban, but a new ECTN must be submitted.