Overview
The Malian Customs Authority has issued an official notification regarding the Bordereau Électronique de Suivi des Cargaisons (BESC) requirement for all shipments destined for Mali.
Key Requirement
All exporters and freight forwarders must obtain the BESC at the port of loading before shipment. This is a mandatory compliance measure.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
Failure to comply with this requirement may result in:
- Penalties imposed by customs authorities
- Clearance delays at the destination port
Recommendation
Stakeholders in the shipping industry are advised to take immediate action to ensure all Mali-bound shipments include proper BESC documentation to avoid operational disruptions and financial penalties.
Filing against this requirement
Our desk records a Mali BESC application as filed with three documents: the bill of lading, the commercial invoice and the freight invoice.
Mali is landlocked, so the filing turns on a detail the notice above does not mention: the customs entry point. Applications come back when the declared port of discharge is wrong — Dakar and Abidjan are the two that recur in our records. The other two frequent causes are a BESC number missing from the bill of lading, and a commercial invoice that does not list FOB, freight and ancillary costs as separate lines rather than a single total.
Current requirements are kept on the Mali BESC page.
Official sources
Mali BESC: official decisions, as reported
The BESC is managed by the Conseil Malien des Chargeurs (CMC), created by ordinance No. 99-036/P-RM of 23 September 1999. The CMC’s own site was unreachable when we checked; the decisions below are as reported by Mali Tribune.
- Mali Tribune (4 Feb 2026): order No. 2025-6075 of 31 December 2025 returns the BESC to the CMC
- Mali Tribune (18 Apr 2026): CMC circular No. 001/CMC-SG of 13 April 2026, declarations without a BESC refused at the border
accessed
Top 3 causes of Mali BESC problems
- The Bill of Lading shows only the coastal port, and the final destination in Mali is not stated, so the BESC is not filed for Mali.
- The invoice does not list the FOB value, freight and other costs separately.
- The BESC is filed late: a declaration without a BESC is refused at the Mali border and the cargo goes back to the port for regularisation.
Official BESC Document Sample
Verify the layout, stamps, and BESC customs format of a validated Mali loading certificate:
