What is the Madagascar BSC certificate (Madagascar ECTN)?
The BSC (Bordereau de Suivi de Cargaison) is Madagascar’s cargo tracking note, in force since 1 April 2007, when it replaced the earlier SGS pre-shipment inspection. It is required by the Direction Générale des Douanes and runs on an online system developed by GasyNet: the exporter or its forwarder creates the BSC, GasyNet’s technical centre in Antananarivo checks that it is admissible, and the importer can follow its status in real time. A BSC is refused when information is incomplete or inconsistent, a required document is missing or the invoice is incomplete. Customs uses it to match the shipper, consignee, cargo and declared values against the Bill of Lading at Toamasina, Mahajanga (Majunga) or Toliara (Tulear).
The BSC is Madagascar’s form of the cargo tracking note; CTN meaning in shipping explains the document 30 African and Middle East destinations ask for in one form or another.
Other names for the Madagascar BSC
One instrument, several names. For Madagascar the filing is the BSC — Bordereau de Suivi des Cargaisons. The same certificate is also referred to as BSC (Bordereau de Suivi de Cargaison), GasyNet BSC, and ECTN (Electronic Cargo Tracking Note), 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.
Which ports need the Madagascar BSC?
The BSC covers cargo for Madagascar’s ports: Toamasina (Tamatave), the main container port, Mahajanga (Majunga) and Toliara (Tulear). Madagascar is an island with no land neighbours, and the official rule is that every cargo bound for Madagascar needs a BSC, whatever its final destination and customs regime, so transhipped or transit cargo is not exempt.
Official Madagascar BSC sources
The BSC is required by Madagascar Customs (Direction Générale des Douanes) and run on GasyNet’s system.
- Madagascar Customs: clearance and the BSC
- Madagascar trade portal (PIC): how to import to Madagascar
- GasyNet BSC online system: bscmg.sgs.com
- Maersk: Madagascar import procedures (BSC since 1 April 2007)
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When must the Madagascar BSC be issued?
The BSC is created around loading. Madagascar Customs states that the formalities are completed once the goods have been shipped, while carriers such as Maersk ask for the BSC before the goods are shipped, and the shipping line needs the BSC number to issue the final Bill of Lading. Open the file when the booking is confirmed: registering a new consignee is the step that takes longest.
Who files the Madagascar BSC?
The exporter at origin creates the BSC, or a forwarder or agent filing for them. The importer in Madagascar does not file it, but must be registered on GasyNet’s system and can follow the BSC’s status online. Who pays under the sales terms does not change who files.
How to get the Madagascar BSC, step by step
According to the customs regulations of Madagascar, every cargo shipment purchased from abroad and transported for commercial, business, diplomatic, or personal purposes requires a validated Loading Certificate:
- ▪Register the shipper and the consignee on GasyNet’s BSC system. Both must be registered before a draft can be issued; send us the consignee’s full details upfront so registration does not hold up the file.
- ▪Prepare the Bill of Lading, commercial invoice, packing list, freight invoice and export declaration. The invoice is made out to the final consignee with the Incoterm, payment terms, origin and HS code of each item; the packing list shows container numbers and gross and net weight per container.
- ▪At loading, the BSC is created and its number is passed to the shipping line, which needs it to issue the final Bill of Lading. Madagascar does not accept split Bills of Lading, so settle how the cargo is split before the BSC is created.
- ▪GasyNet checks the BSC for admissibility and validates it; the importer can follow the status online, and the validated BSC is presented for clearance in Madagascar.
Madagascar BSC: validity and amendments
A validated BSC 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 Madagascar BSC?
Cargo arriving without a validated BSC is generally not released at Toamasina, Majunga or Tulear: 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 the Madagascar BSC 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.
Madagascar BSC: latest notices and articles
Is the Madagascar BSC Mandatory?
Yes. Madagascar Customs requires a BSC for every cargo bound for Madagascar, whatever its final destination and customs regime, and the BSC has been in force since 1 April 2007. Sea freight shipments need one. Madagascar Customs also publishes a list of exemptions, including postal packets, parcels and air freight with a FOB value up to EUR 100.
How Long Does the Madagascar BSC Take?
GasyNet registration starts the file. Until the shipper and the consignee are both registered, no draft can be issued and the BSC does not move.
The order is: registration, documents, BSC created at loading, BSC number passed to the shipping line, then the admissibility check by GasyNet's technical centre in Antananarivo and validation.
Registering a new consignee is the step that takes longest. The other delays come from GasyNet's refusal grounds: weights or package counts that differ between the Bill of Lading and the packing list, incomplete invoice information, or a required document missing from the file.
The working limit is set by the carrier, because the shipping line needs the BSC number to issue the final Bill of Lading.
GasyNet Registration for a New Consignee
GasyNet's BSC system runs at bscmg.sgs.com. The exporter or its forwarder creates the BSC there, the importer in Madagascar must be registered and can follow the status in real time, and the technical centre in Antananarivo runs the check.
With a first-time consignee, this is the slowest part of the file. Request the registration upfront by sending all of the consignee's details by email. If the carrier asks for the BSC number while the consignee is still unregistered, there is no draft and no BSC to give.
BSC Draft, BSC Number and Validated BSC: What Is the Difference?
Madagascar's three stages do not arrive together. The draft can be issued once the shipper and consignee are registered. The BSC number can be supplied before validation, and the shipping line needs it for the final Bill of Lading. The validated BSC comes after GasyNet's admissibility check and is presented for clearance in Madagascar.
So a BSC number on the final Bill of Lading does not show that GasyNet has finished its check.
Invoice and Packing List Checks for the Madagascar BSC
Make the invoice out to the final consignee in Madagascar, with the Incoterm, payment terms, origin and HS code of each item. GasyNet treats an incomplete invoice as a ground for refusal on its own. The packing list shows container numbers and gross and net weight per container, and its weights, package counts and descriptions must match the Bill of Lading.
Madagascar Customs later matches the shipper, consignee, cargo and declared values against the Bill of Lading at the port, so run that comparison before filing. Check the seals too: our Casablanca to Tamatave case concerns mismatched container seal numbers on a Madagascar BSC.
Splitting Cargo or Correcting the Manifest in Madagascar
Madagascar does not accept split Bills of Lading, so settle any split before the BSC is created. If the cargo is going to two consignees, check each one's GasyNet registration at the start.
The cost appears once a correction reaches the manifest: Maersk lists customs fines of USD 250 to 1,250 per amendment request in Madagascar. That is why every field should be checked before the BSC is created.
Toamasina or Tamatave? Port Names on Madagascar Documents
Each of Madagascar's three ports goes by two names: Toamasina (Tamatave), Mahajanga (Majunga) and Toliara (Tulear). Because the discharge port on the Bill of Lading must match the cargo, pick one spelling and use it on the Bill of Lading, the invoice and the packing list.
Does Air Freight Over EUR 100 Need a Madagascar BSC?
The exemption entry for postal packets, parcels and air freight stops at a FOB value of EUR 100, so a shipment above that value falls outside that entry. The limit does not help sea cargo, which needs a BSC. For an air shipment above EUR 100, ask us about Madagascar before opening a file.
Shipping to Madagascar from Turkey
The exporter in Turkey, or its forwarder, creates the BSC on GasyNet's system; the importer in Madagascar does not file it. Register the shipper and consignee before the booking reaches loading, and do not leave a new consignee until the carrier asks for the BSC number. Keep the export declaration with the Bill of Lading, commercial invoice, packing list and freight invoice, since all five are in the Madagascar file.
Why File Through GetCTN
We check the shipper and consignee registration on GasyNet's system before filing, because a missing registration is the most common cause of delay on this destination. We compare the weights, codes and stamps on the packing list and the export declaration, and we check that the seals and discharge port on the Bill of Lading match the cargo. You see the draft first, so a field can be fixed before the BSC is created and well ahead of the manifest fines Maersk lists for Madagascar.
Madagascar BSC certificate questions
What is the BSC for Madagascar?
The BSC (Bordereau de Suivi de Cargaison) is Madagascar’s mandatory cargo tracking note. Madagascar Customs requires it for every cargo bound for Madagascar; it is created on GasyNet’s online system and checked by GasyNet before validation.
Since when does Madagascar require the BSC?
Since 1 April 2007, when the BSC replaced the earlier SGS pre-shipment inspection procedure for goods shipped to Madagascar.
What is GasyNet?
GasyNet is the company that developed and runs the online BSC system for Madagascar, at bscmg.sgs.com. Its technical centre in Antananarivo checks every BSC for admissibility before it is validated, and the importer can follow the BSC’s status in real time.
Do shipper and consignee need to register for the Madagascar BSC?
Yes. Both the shipper and the consignee must be registered on GasyNet’s BSC system before a draft can be issued. Send the consignee’s full details at the start; a missing registration is the most common cause of delay.
Does transit cargo need a Madagascar BSC?
Yes. The official rule is that every cargo bound for Madagascar needs a BSC, whatever its final destination and customs regime.
When is the Madagascar BSC issued?
Around loading. Madagascar Customs states that the BSC formalities are completed once the goods have been shipped; Maersk asks for the BSC before the goods are shipped. Either way the shipping line needs the BSC number to issue the final Bill of Lading, so start when the booking is confirmed.
Can a Bill of Lading for Madagascar be split or amended later?
Madagascar does not accept split Bills of Lading, and customs fines manifest amendments: Maersk lists USD 250 to 1,250 per amendment request. Settle the split and check every field before the BSC is created.
Which shipments are exempt from the Madagascar BSC?
Madagascar Customs lists postal packets, parcels and air freight with a FOB value up to EUR 100, documents and samples, defence materiel, banknotes for the Central Bank, state-to-state gifts, diplomatic bags and disaster relief. Sea freight shipments need a BSC.
Which documents are required for the Madagascar BSC?
Bill of Lading, commercial invoice, packing list, freight invoice and export declaration. The invoice is made out to the final consignee with the Incoterm, payment terms, origin and HS code of each item; the packing list shows container numbers and gross and net weight per container, and weights and package counts must match the Bill of Lading.