Who sets the ECTN charge?
The ECTN charge is set by the authority of the destination country, not by the exporter's country and not by the carrier. In most countries that authority is the national shippers' council; in others it is customs or a body appointed by the government. A few examples from the official sources:
- Mali: interministerial order No. 2025-6075 of 31 December 2025 sets how the BESC is issued and the rates that apply, and gives the Conseil Malien des Chargeurs the collection of the fee at the ports of loading and transit.
- Cameroon: the Conseil National des Chargeurs du Cameroun publishes its ECTN rates on its own platform, and the applicant's account is credited before a request is submitted.
- Burkina Faso: the Conseil Burkinabè des Chargeurs states that registered agents sell the ECTN against the official published fee.
- Kenya: the Kenya Revenue Authority does not charge for the ACD.
Because each country sets its own charge, there is no single ECTN price. The same cargo costs a different amount for Cotonou, Douala or Port Sudan.
What unit is the ECTN billed on?
The charge follows the unit the destination authority uses. The common ones are:
| Unit | Where it is used |
|---|---|
| Per Bill of Lading | Every destination: one certificate covers one Bill of Lading, so each Bill of Lading is a separate certificate |
| Per container, by size | Container cargo, often with one rate for 20′ and another for 40′ |
| Per vehicle | RoRo cargo, sometimes graded by vehicle weight |
| Per tonne or per W/M, with a minimum | Bulk and break-bulk cargo |
| Per House Bill of Lading | LCL cargo where each house bill needs its own filing, as for the Kenya ACD |
Sudan's official ACD tariff shows how this works in practice: separate rates per container, per LCL shipment, per truck, per RoRo unit and per tonne for bulk, and a lower rate for transit cargo. See the Sudan ACD page for the source.
The official fee and the service fee
What a shipper pays for an ECTN is usually made of two parts:
- The official fee set by the destination authority. It is the same whoever files the certificate.
- The service fee for preparing the file, checking the documents and handling queries. The Conseil Burkinabè des Chargeurs says this plainly: a filing agent's service is not part of the ECTN system, and its fee must be agreed between the forwarder and the agent.
This is why two quotes for the same shipment can differ. The official part does not change; the service part does. Ask for both parts to be shown separately before you approve anything.
What makes an ECTN cost more?
The official fee is fixed, but the total cost of a shipment can grow. The causes we see most:
- Filing late. Cameroon keeps a late request pending until the applicable penalty is paid. In Mali, a customs declaration without a BESC is refused at the border and the cargo is sent back to the port to be regularised, with storage and delay in the transit port.
- Changing the file after validation. Many authorities charge for an amendment, and some do not allow certain changes at all. In Madagascar a split Bill of Lading is not accepted and customs fines manifest amendments.
- Mismatched documents. A weight, consignee name or HS code that differs between the Bill of Lading and the invoice means a rejected draft and a second round.
- The wrong certificate. Cargo for landlocked Mali, Niger or Burkina Faso is discharged in a coastal country. Filing for the port country instead of the final destination means paying for a certificate that does not clear the cargo.
How to avoid paying more than you need
- Open the file when the booking is confirmed, not when the vessel has sailed.
- Send the final Bill of Lading data, the commercial invoice and the freight invoice together, and check that weights, package counts and parties match.
- Tell the filer the final destination as well as the port of discharge.
- Check the draft before it is validated: corrections at draft stage are part of the normal process; corrections after validation are not.
- Ask for the official fee and the service fee as two separate lines.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ECTN charge a percentage of the cargo value?
Not in the official tariffs we have checked, such as Sudan's: they charge per container, per shipment, per vehicle or per tonne. The value of the goods is declared on the certificate, but that is not what those charges are calculated on. Some authorities add cargo-based elements, so check the tariff of your destination.
Who pays the ECTN charge, the shipper or the consignee?
The sales terms decide who pays. They do not change who files: the certificate is obtained at origin by the shipper, the exporter or the forwarder acting for them.
Why do ECTN quotes differ between providers?
The official fee is the same for everyone. The difference is the service fee and what it includes, such as checking documents, handling queries and corrections at draft stage.
Where can I see the official ECTN fee for a country?
On the destination authority's own publication, where it publishes one. Each of our country pages lists the official sources we checked for that destination.