GetCTN vs an ECTN provider
We file into the destination authority’s own system. One desk, no resale.
GetCTN is an authorised agent: your ECTN, BESC, CNCA or FERI is prepared here, screened against the destination’s rules and submitted into that country’s own customs system, for 30 destinations. A provider sells you the same certificate and hands the file to whoever holds that access.
- ~1 hour
- draft certificate and fixed price in hand
- 1–24 h
- validated certificate
- 30
- destinations, from one desk
Count the desks your file passes through.
Each hand-off adds a margin and a wait. With GetCTN there is one.
- You send the documents
- GetCTN checks and prepares the file
- GetCTN submits it to the authority’s system
- The authority validates
- GetCTN sends the certificate to you
one service fee
- A correction goes straight to the officer who prepared the file
- The person you ask is the person who answers
- You send the documents
- The provider takes the request
- It is passed to the agent who holds the access
- That agent prepares the file
- That agent submits it to the authority’s system
- The certificate goes back to the provider
- The provider forwards it to you
two margins, two hand-offs
- Every correction travels back through two desks
- Your question is passed on, then its answer waited for
- Two companies’ working hours
- You never speak to whoever reads your file
GetCTN files as an authorised agent and works with national customs databases and shipping councils. The certificate itself is issued by the destination country’s authority — GetCTN is not a government body and does not claim to be one.
What actually happens to your file
| Step | GetCTN | A provider |
|---|---|---|
| Who submits it, and into which system | As authorised agent, into the destination authority’s own system | Passed to another company that holds the access |
| Before anything is sent | Tonnage, seal and HS codes checked automatically against the destination’s rules | Whatever their supplier does, out of your sight |
| Who reads the file | A senior officer cross-checks it against that country’s customs | Unknown to you — it is not their desk |
| Before the original is printed | You approve the draft first; the authority prints only after that | Depends on the agent behind them |
| If something needs correcting | You tell the officer who prepared it; the correction is made at the same desk | It passes through two desks: to the provider, on to the agent, then back |
| When you ask a question | Answered by the person handling your file, in one of five languages | The provider passes it on and waits for their supplier |
| What you pay | Government fee plus one fixed service fee, shown before you pay | Tariff, the filing agent’s fee, then a margin |
| How long it takes | 1–24 h to a validated certificate, published on every country page | Depends on the agent behind them |
| If it is rejected | The same officer takes it back to the authority | Limited to what their supplier allows |
| Who you talk to | A named officer, in five languages | Often one person, one language |
The right-hand column describes how a pass-on arrangement works and what it means for you, not what any particular company does or does not do.
Questions shippers ask
How do I tell a provider from the desk that files?
Ask two things before you pay: what the exact total is, and which system the file is submitted into. A desk that files answers both in writing. A provider names another company, or answers neither.
Is GetCTN the issuing authority?
No. The certificate is issued by the destination country’s authority. GetCTN is an authorised agent: it prepares the file, screens it against that country’s rules, submits it into their system and stands behind the result.
Why does the price not change after I send documents?
Because the quote comes from the destination, the document type and the cargo, which is everything the tariff depends on. If something changes the tariff, you are told before anything is filed, not after.
How long until I have the certificate?
The draft certificate and the fixed price reach you within about an hour. The validated certificate takes 1 to 24 hours depending on the destination; each country page states that country’s time.
Can I apply while the B/L is still a draft?
Yes, and that is the better way. We start from the draft B/L and the commercial invoice, so a missing or inconsistent field is caught before loading. By the time the final B/L arrives the file is already prepared.
When do I pay?
You see the total before you pay: the official tariff plus one fixed service fee. Nothing is added later.
Which country needs which document?
Each destination has its own document and its own rules — Angola ARCCLA, Congo FERI, Gabon BIETC, Egypt ACID. Pick the country on the destinations page and it lists the document, the mandatory ports and the filing deadline.
What happens when a filing is rejected?
The same officer who prepared it takes it back to the authority. Rejections are a normal part of the work: our case studies publish how long each one took, including the waiting.
Send your draft B/L. Get the exact total.
The price is confirmed before anything is filed. You pay that number.
GetCTN International · Dubai · WCA Family (member #87624) · ISO 9001:2015