REGULATIONS for Gabon BIETC

The Gabonese Shipping Council’s (CGC) instructions are as follows:
● All cargo towards Gabon (in transit included) is subject to a BIETC (ECTN) declaration (compulsory),
● The BIETC declaration must be requested by the Charger BEFORE loading of cargo: This means even before there is a draft bill of lading.
● The BIETC reference number must be mentioned on the Bill of Lading,
● The BIETC declaration must be validated within 5 days after sailing from Departure,
● If the BIETC declaration was not filed by the charger before loading, the Gabonese customer will have to file the request at his side but against a penalty of
50% of the value of the Freight manifest, in order to recover his cargo,
● If the Transporter loads a cargo towards Gabon without a draft BIETC reference number or validated visa received from the Charger, he will be penalized for not complying to the Gabonese law (penalty of 100% of the Freight manifest value).

Before or after vessel departure, the period agreed to get this provisional BIC signed and stamped varies following regions:

AFRICA: 5 Days after vessel departure
AMERICA: 15 Days after vessel departure
ASIA: 10 Days after vessel departure
EUROPE: 5 Days after vessel departure

Please click the link to read Live Case Study from Shipper who received €40000 penalty

Q: Can you issue us certificate with date of issuance within 5 days of vessel sailing?

A: Yes we must issue the certificate even though it has been more than 5 days. Keep in mind that importer will pay penalty at the port of destination. If we don’t issue the certificate it will be penalties and 3-5 days of delay. So it is better to have CTN document.

Gabon BIETC regulations

Q: Please advise if we may send a final bill to you without the BIETC number? The implication is if we print the bill – we will pay an amendment and reprint fee should the BIETC be required to be on it.

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A: Yes you may use BL without BIETC number. Bietc number doesn’t have to be written on BL.

Hello, I am Jagan, Director of Operations at Shipwaves Logistics company in India. On September 2017 we shipped 2x40HC containers to Libreville, Gabon for the first time. Our shipment arrived to the destination only to be asked for the Loading certificate called BIETC. I know a lot about this certificate now, but didn’t know anything back then.

We have received a message from Customs Union, that if didn’t provide this document we would receive penalty up to Euro 40000, that is exactly same as the value of goods being sold. We have searched for a way around this and came across GetCTN.com to get this document. Kyle, the manager, was kind to explain the process of obtaining the Gabon BIETC certificate. However, as per Gabon Custom regulations, I was unable to get this document at this point as it was too late to apply. Kyle advised me to bring the cargo back to the loading port, get the BIETC certificate and then reload the containers. I did exactly that and saved almost Euro 30000 for the company.

The motive behind this Case Review post is that I know there are numerous other shippers who do not know about Gabon BIETC certificate. I want those people to note and avoid the situation our company has experienced. Make sure that you apply for the BIETC certificate as soon as possible. Otherwise you will receive penalty up to 100% of value of goods.

Most shipping agents ask exporters to acquire BIETC certificate before the cargo can be loaded to the vessel. This number will also be depicted on the Bill of Lading. However, in certain cases, exporters can get away without mentioning the BIETC number on the Bill of Lading.

Yes. Gabon Authorities require BIETC certificate for each HBL in the LCL load.

Some shipping lines do ask for the BIETC number before you can actually load the goods on to the vessel. We can issue the number with draft BL before vessel discharge.

Depending on the continent the loading port is located, the Gabon authorities have granted 5 to 15 days within which the BIETC certificate must be validated. The authorities are draconian about this policy. The certificate can not be validated and will be penalized if the certificate is not validated within the allocated time frame:

• 10 calendar days after sailing for shipments with departure Europe
• 5 calendar days after sailing for shipments with departure Africa
• 15 calendar days after sailing for shipments with departure America, Asia and Oceania

Normally a vehicle over 3 years old cannot be exported to Gabon. However, CAT’s are not considered as vehicle bu Gabon authorities, thus we can issue the BIETC certificate for CAT.

We couldn’t know the penalty fee you will face if you missed the deadline for BIETC certificate. But there have been cases where exporters faced with a penalty up to $40,000 for 2×40’containers.

No, Unfortunately, once validated, the BIETC certificate to Gabon cannot be revised in any way.