WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/CIV/2 
5 October 2007 
 
 (07-4247) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   French 
  
 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES 
 
Notification Under Article 7.3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
1 
 
COTE D'IVOIRE 
 
  The following communication, dated 27 September 2007, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Côte d'Ivoire.  
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Outline of systems
 
 
1. Under the provisions of Decree No. 93-313 of 11 March 1993 implementing Law No. 91-999 
of 27 December 1991 on competition in connection with the conditions under which foreign goods 
from any source or origin may enter Côte d'Ivoire  as well as the conditions un der which goods may be 
exported or re-exported to foreign countries, there is  only one licensing regime in force.  This regime 
is comparable to automatic licensing in th at the import licence is issued upon request. 
 Purposes and coverage of licensing
 
 
2. The import licensing regime applies to two groups of products: 
 Petroleum products: 
 27.09.00 – Petroleum oils and oils ob tained from bituminous minerals, crude 
27.10.10 – Partially refined petroleum 
27.10.21 – White spirit 27.10.29 – Other special fuels 27.10.31 – Aviation fuel 27.10.32 – Super fuel 
27.10.33 – Motor fuel 
27.10.39 – Other light oils 27.10.41 – Jet fuel 27.10.42 – Lamp oil 27.10.49 – Other oils 
27.10.50 – Diesel-oil DDO 
27.10.51 – Gas oil 27.10.52 – Domestic fuel oil 27.10.53 – Light fuel oil 27.10.54 – Heavy fuel oil I 
                                                     
 
1 The questionnaire is contained in the annex to document G/LIC/3. G/LIC/N/3/CIV/2 
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  27.10.55 – Heavy fuel oil II 
  Textile fabrics of cotton:  55.09.02 – Plain-woven unbleached fabrics of cotton 
55.09.24 – Bleached dimity 
55.09.41 – Dyed dimity 55.09.46 – Other plain-woven fabrics of cotton weighing more than 200 g/m
2, dyed (denim) 
55.09.51 – Wax printed fabrics of cotton 55.09.53 – Printed fabrics of cotton of a width of less than 115 centimetres (fancy) 
55.09.54 – Printed fabrics of cotton of a width exceeding 115 centimetres (fancy) 
 3. The regime applies to the products concerne d whatever their origin and source (MFN). 
4. The licensing regime is not intended to restrict the quantity or value of imports, but simply to 
help with the management and follow-up of  the products concerned upon importation. 
5. The licensing regime is based on Decree No. 93-313 of 11 March 1993 implementing 
Law No. 91-999 of 27 December 1991 on competition in  connection with the conditions under which 
foreign goods from any source or origin may ente r Côte d'Ivoire, as well as the conditions under 
which goods may be exported or re -exported to foreign countries. 
- Order No. 38 of 12 March 1998 implementi ng Decree No. 93-313 of 11 March 1993. 
 
 The licensing regime is not directly imposed by the legislative provisions. 
 
Procedures
 
 
6. The application of the licensing regime does not involve defining the quantity or value of the 
products in question. 
I. Information concerning the use of the licen ces is published in a notice to importers and 
exporters. 
 II. No yearly, six-monthly or quarterly quotas are determined.  
III. Licences are allocated to all.   The names of importers to wh om licences have been allocated 
are not published. 
 IV. No specific time-limit is set for the submission of licence applications.  
V. No minimum or maximum length of time has been set for processing applications.  In 
principle, they are processed within 72 hours. 
 VI. The licences that are delivered are usable de facto.  There is no waiting period (between the 
granting of the licence and the date of opening of the period of importation). 
 
VII. Licence applications are considered by a single administrative organ, namely the Trade 
Development Directorate of the Ministry of Commerce. 
  G/LIC/N/3/CIV/2 
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  VIII. Applications for licences are systematica lly accepted.  Since no quota is established in 
advance, there is no quota alloca tion to the different importers: 
  - Applications submitted on the basis of th e needs of importers are generally accepted. 
 - Applications are examined on receipt. 
 
IX. No.  X. Not applicable in Cote d'Ivoire.  
XI. There are no products for which licences are issued on condition that goods are exported and 
not sold in the domestic market.  7.(a) There is no expressly established time-limit for submitting an application in advance of 
importation. 
(b) A licence can be granted immediately on request. 
(c) Applications for licences maybe subm itted at any time during the year. 
(d) Licence applications are examined by a si ngle administrative organ, namely the Trade 
Development Directorate ( Direction de l'Expansion Commerciale  – DEC) of the Ministry of 
Commerce. 
 
8. There are no specific circumstances in which an application for a licence may be refused apart 
from the failure to meet the ordinary criteria. 
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
 
9. All persons, firms and institutions are eligible  to apply for licences (as mentioned, these 
licences are not restrictive) as long as they are regist ered in the commercial register, that they have a 
tax payer's account provided by the tax authorities, an d an importer/exporter code issued by the DEC. 
 Registration in the commercial register, which costs CFAF 25,000 (US$52.0833) is not 
specific to the licensing regime.   Taxpayer account registration depends on the comp any's legal status and its turnover – it is 
not specific to imports of products covered by the licensing regime. 
 
 The fee for importer code registration, which is required of all importers, is 
CFAF 10,000 (US$20.0833).   There is a published list of authorized importe rs for products subject to authorization and for 
which an import licence is not required. 
 
Documentational and other require ments for application for licence
 
 
10. The following information must be provided: 
 
 - Identify of the importer (address, tax account number, importer code, tax code); 
 - amount (foreign exchange and CFAF value – f.o.b. value);  - financial settlement (interme diary bank and payment terms); 
 - identity of seller (address); G/LIC/N/3/CIV/2 
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   - country of consignment of the goods; 
 - country of origin of the goods;  - customs clearance office;  - description of the goods (technical char acteristics, customs code, f.o.b. value, 
quantity in kg.); 
 - pro-forma invoice. 
 11. The final invoice is required upon actual importation. 
12. A licensing fee of CFAF 1,000 (US$2.0833) is charged. 
13. The issue of a licence is not conditional upon any deposit or advance payment. 
Conditions of licensing
 
 
14. A licence is valid for a period of six months which can be extended only once as from the 
5th month (of the validity period) by submitting an application for extension to the DEC. 
15. There is no penalty for the non-utilization of the licence or a portion of a licence. 
16. Licences are not transferable. 
17. The issue of a licence concerns the products that  are subject to quantative restrictions under 
the regulations in force, but in practice, no restrictions are imposed. 
Other procedural requirements  
 
18. Yes – pre-shipment inspection or scanning upon arrival. 
19. Foreign exchange is provided subject to a justif ication in a form of an application with the 
invoice attached, to be submitted to the External Finance Directorate when the value of the goods 
exceeds CFAF five million (US$10,416.667).  This condition applies to any imports, whether or not 
covered by an import licence. 
 Foreign exchange is always available to cover licences issued. 
 
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