Fertilizers

I-INTRODUCTION

The Fertilizer Sector is governed by ECOWAS Regulation C/REG. of 13 December 2012 on Quality Control of Fertilizers in the West African Community.

The purpose of this Regulation is to harmonize the rules governing the Quality Control of Fertilizers within the Member States:

• Approval of operators in the fertilizer sector;
• The Quality Control of fertilizers.

This Regulation was also published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on 21 October 2013.In application of this regulation, one (1) draft Decree has been prepared, namely:

Draft Decree laying down the modalities of application of Regulation C/REG. 13/12/12 on the quality control of fertilizers in the ECOWAS region.

Similarly, implementing regulations have been drafted on:

• Labelling and tolerance limit of fertilisers marketed in the ECOWAS region – implementing regulation ECW/PEC/IR of 02/03/2016;
• the attribution, organisation and functioning of the West African Fertiliser Control Committee – implementing regulation ECW/PEC/IR of 05/12/2016
• analysis of fertilizers in the ECOWAS region – implementing regulation ECW/PEC/IR of 06/12/2016;
• fertilizer inspection in the ECOWAS region – implementing regulation ECW/PEC/IR of 07/12/2016.

II-IMPORT APPROVAL

Pending their signature and publication, a transitional procedure for obtaining Import Approval has been developed and is applied by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER).

Products considered as fertilisers can be marketed or used in Côte d’Ivoire :

• if they comply with an ISO standard,
• or if they comply with Regulation N°C/REG. of 13 December 2012 on Quality Control of Fertilizers in the ECOWAS region,
• or if they benefit from an Approval or an Interim Import Authorisation (IPA)
• or if they are made up of raw organic products or crop supports of natural origin or by-products of a farm delivered as is or mixed together, without chemical treatment (e.g. farmyard manure).

The importation of fertilisers into Côte d’Ivoire is reserved for holders of a Fertiliser Import Approval. The Ministry issues five (5) types of Approvals:

• Formulator/Manufacturer Approval.
• Importer Approval.
• Exporter Approval.
• Distributor Approval.
• Vendor Approval.

It should be noted that unlike Pesticides, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development does not issue an authorisation for the exercise of the profession for importers – exporters of fertilisers, but rather an Import – Export Approval by Product.

The import itself is subject to a Preliminary Import Authorisation also issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Fertilisers include the following products: (See Legal Regimes for Imports and Exports) – (See General Import Procedures tabs on the site) – and HS customs nomenclature.

• HS 25.10 – Phosphate rock.
• HS 28.14 – Anhydrous ammonia.
• HS 31.01 – Fertilisers of animal or vegetable origin, e.g., manures, guanos, dried blood.
• HS 31.02 – Nitrogenous fertilisers, for example, urea or ammonium sulphate.
• HS 31.03 – Phosphate fertilisers, for example, single superphosphate or triple superphosphate.
• HS 31.04 – Potash fertilisers, for example, potassium chloride or potassium sulphate.
• HS 31.05 – Complex fertilisers containing at least two elements, such as DAP, NPK complexes.

 

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER)

Directorate General of Food Production and Security

Directorate of Food Production and Food Security (DPVSA)

Sub-Directorate of Seeds and Inputs

Abidjan – Plateau, Immeuble CAISTAB

BP V 82 Abidjan – Côte D’Ivoire

Tel: (+225) 20 21 41 77 / (+225) 20 22 24 81

Fax: (+225) 20 21 36 10

Website: http://www.agriculture.gouv.ci

Email: minagri.cabinet@agriculture.gouv.ci / cabminagri@yahoo.fr

 

The following regulations are applicable to the import of all fertilizers – see Annex A of Decree 93-313.

 

Procedure for issuing Importer-Exporter Approval

Only natural or legal persons holding a Fertilizer Importer-Exporter Approval issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are entitled to import or export fertilizers. As stated above, this approval is granted per product (or set of products).

Submission of the application for Importer/Exporter Approval

Applications must be submitted to the Mail Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The documents that must accompany the file are as follows:

• A request addressed to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
• A photocopy of the National Identity Card or Residence Card of the person in charge.
• A photocopy of the Trade Register.
• An Existence Tax Declaration [DFE] [See General Procedures for imports].
• Two (2) samples of the product (bottles, bags, cans, sacks, etc.).
• A Certificate of Conformity and Non-Toxicity issued by an accredited or approved analysis laboratory designated by the MINADER Fertiliser Department.
• A Technical Data Sheet for the product (composition, method of use, precautions to be taken, active ingredient, etc.).

Obtaining Approval

In order to obtain the Approval, the applicant must, for any type of unapproved fertilizer, have field trials conducted at his own expense, in liaison with the Directorate in charge of fertilizers and with an approved Research Centre (CNRA or other competent structures), on at least one vegetative cycle of one (1) or two (2) crops concerned.

These trials are the subject of a report. The cost of the trials is evaluated by the approved Research Centre. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regularly monitors the trials carried out by the Research Centre.

The cost of monitoring the trials is 625,000 FCFA – (Cf. Inter-ministerial Order n°252 of 19 June 2014). The Approval is issued on the advice of the Technical Committee.

Cost of the Importer Approval: 300,000 FCFA – (Cf. Inter-ministerial Order n°252 of 19 June 2014).

Period of validity of the Approval: 3 years

In addition, it is recalled that any importation into Côte d’Ivoire is subject to the obligation, for individuals as well as for legal entities, to have a Permanent or Temporary Importer/Exporter Code – [Cf. General Import Rules].

III-DOCUMENTS

1. Import Declaration Form (IDF)

The Import Declaration Form (IDF) is mandatory if the value of the goods exceeds five hundred thousand (500,000) CFA francs – (See Example of IDF).

The IDF is established online via the transactional site of the Guichet Unique du Commerce Extérieur (GUCE). Access to the site requires prior registration as an importer, exporter or freight forwarder (https://guce.gouv.ci/register/procedure). The documents and information to be provided are as follows:

• Importer Code (or Occasional Importer Code)
• Pro-forma or Final Invoice
• Mode of Transport
• Name of the importer’s bank (in Côte d’Ivoire) (for direct debit and exchange authorisation)
• HS Codes of the products to be imported

For the importation of the products listed below, the FDI application will only be validated after receipt in the online file of the Preliminary Import Authorisation (API) – (See Example of API) – (See General Import Procedures of the site) – validated, endorsed and signed online by the Directorate of Food Production and Food Security of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Prior Authorization for Importation (API)

For all fertiliser imports, a Preliminary Import Authorisation (API), which is mandatory, is issued by the Direction des Productions Vivrières et de la Sécurité Alimentaire (DPVSA) of MINADER. This procedure can be done manually or online.

The period of validity of an API is one (1) month.

As indicated above, the API is necessary to obtain the Import Declaration Form (IDF) – (See Example of IDF)

Manual procedure

The manual procedure consists of submitting the API request physically to the Fertilizer Service, under the DPVSA’s Sub-Directorate of Seeds and Inputs, or to the Minister’s office, which will forward it to the DPVSA. The following documents are required for the issuance of an API – (See Example of API):

• An Application addressed to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;
• A photocopy of the National Identity Card or Residence Card of the person in charge;
• A photocopy of the Trade Register;
• A Pro-forma Invoice;
• An Import Declaration Form issued by the DPVSA;
• A Technical Data Sheet of the product (composition, method of use, precautions to be taken, active ingredient, etc.).

Application fee: 5,000 FCFA per 350 tonnes paid to the Ministry’s office – (Cf. Inter-ministerial Order n° 252 of 19 June 2014).

Time required to obtain the API (validated online by the DPVSA): between 2h and 72h maximum.

Duration of validity: 30 days.

 

Online procedure

APIs can be submitted and obtained online via the One Stop Shop Platform for Foreign Trade (OST), by economic operators or their forwarders who wish to obtain Import and/or Export Authorisations.

The documents provided are the same as those listed in the manual procedure (see list above) but they are submitted online.

However, the payment of the fees for obtaining the IPA cannot yet be done online, so importers have to pay the IPA fees at the MINADER office for the time being:

• Start the Import Declaration Form (FDI) procedure on the GUCE website (see FDI procedure above)
• The system automatically generates an application for a Preliminary Import Authorisation which is sent to the Sub-Directorate of Seeds and Inputs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,
• The documents to be downloaded are the same as those listed in the manual procedure (except for the Import Form issued by the DPVSA)
• Go to MINADER (Immeuble CAISTAB, Abidjan) with a copy of the physical file to pay to the Régie the application fee for obtaining the API which is 5,000 FCFA per 350 tonnes – (Cf. Inter-ministerial Order n° 252 of 19 June 2014).

Time required to obtain the API (validated online by the DPVSA): between 2 hours and 72 hours maximum

Duration of validity: 30 days

Certificate for Chemicals (dangerous goods)

This procedure concerns Ammonium Nitrate (HS Code 31.02.03) and Sodium Nitrate (HS Code 31.02.05) considered as dangerous goods.

These goods can only be discharged from the ship with a Certificate for Chemicals issued by the SPCIAC-CI, which is part of the Ministry of Defence.

The application is made online through the GUCE Licence / Certificate for Chemicals Module. The documents to be downloaded are the following:

• FDI number.
• Safety Data Sheet (issued by the vendor, technical data of the products).
• Photocopy of the Approval.

The Authorisation is to be downloaded online from the GUCE website after approval by the Ministry of Defence (the time required to obtain it varies between 1 and 10 days). It must be sent to the ship’s consignee before the arrival of the ship and before the landing of the goods.

3. Cargo Tracking Form (CTS)

Import by sea

For all imports by sea, the exporter, the foreign forwarder and the importer must create a Cargo Tracking Form (CTS) via the website of the Ivorian Shippers’ Office (OIC).

At embarkation:

• Registration of the BSC [See General Import Procedures].
• Documents required:
• Final Invoice (or Valued Inventory for personal effects).
• Bill of Lading (B/L), or Air Waybill (AWB/LTA), or Consignment note.
• Packing list.
• Customs Export Declaration of the country of shipment.
• Certificate of Local Insurance in Côte d’Ivoire.
• The Import Declaration Form (IDF) or its number.
• In addition, for imports from countries outside the European Union, the following are required
• The Freight Invoice.
• The Certificate of Origin.

 

4. Statement of Value

As soon as the goods are shipped and all the transport documents for the goods are available (Final Commercial Invoice, Bill of Lading or Air Waybill, Freight Bill Packing List, copy of the FDI and all other available certificates), the freight forwarder must initiate a request for a Certificate of Value.

All goods with an FOB value greater than or equal to one (1) million CFA francs must obtain a Final Classification and Value Report (FCVR) from the Directorate of Risk Analysis, Intelligence and Value (DARRV) of the Customs via the electronic platform of the GUCE – Cf. Customs Circular No. 2007 of 29 March 2019,

The authorised forwarder downloads and fills in the Notice of Deposit (ND).

He attaches the documents accompanying the goods (see list above) to the deposit notice and uploads the entire file online on the GUCE platform.

The Customs Directorate of Risk, Intelligence and Value Analysis (DARRV) checks the shipping documents and delivers, within 5 working days of the submission of the documents, the Final Classification and Value Report, by e-mail, to the consignee or forwarder.

The freight forwarder completes Form D41 (Sampling Permit: this is an authorisation given by the importer or freight forwarder to Customs to take a sample of the goods for the purposes of quality control or to visually assess the apparent condition of the goods) and physically deposits it with the transport documents (see List above) at the Customs Risk Analysis, Intelligence and Value Division (DARRV) for verification. After examining the file, the DARRV issues the Attestation of Verification (AV).

Goods with an FOB value of less than one (1) million CFA francs and certain other products – see the list of goods not subject to RFCV on the website www.douane.ci – are exempt from the RFCV procedure (see the General Import Procedures tab on the website).

5. Customs declaration

On arrival

The Customs Declaration is made by a forwarder appointed by the importer and approved by Customs.

The freight forwarder submits the Declaration in the Customs computer system – SYDAM (Sydonia World). The documents to be submitted to the freight forwarder to make the Customs Declaration are the following:

• Original Bill of Lading (B/L) for sea shipments, or Air Waybill (AWB) for air shipments or Consignment note for road shipments.
• Original supplier’s invoice.
• Certificate of Insurance.
• Import Form (FDI – via the GUCE website).
• Freight Invoice.
• Final Value Classification Report (FVCR) if the FOB value is at least one (1) million CFA francs or the Certificate of Value (CV) if the FOB value is less than one (1) million CFA francs, or if the products are excluded from the FVCR [see General Import Procedures].
• The Packing List.
• Customs receipt if the method of payment of duties and taxes is cash.
• The Cargo Tracking Form (BSC) issued by the Ivorian Shippers’ Office (OIC) for transport by sea.
• The UEMOA or ECOWAS Certificate of Origin if required.

IV-LIST OF PRODUCTS

HS codes for common fertilizer classes:

SH Code	Designation
3101	Organic fertilisers.
3101	Animal or vegetable fertilisers, whether or not mixed together or chemically treated; fertilisers resulting from the mixing or chemical treatment of products of animal or vegetable origin.
31.02	Mineral or chemical fertilisers containing nitrogen.
31.02	Urea, whether or not in aqueous solution.
3102.21	Ammonium sulphate.
3102.29	Ammonium sulphate; double salts and mixtures of ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate.
3102.3	Ammonium nitrate, whether or not in aqueous solution.
3102.4	Mixtures of ammonium nitrate and calcium carbonate or other inorganic substances without fertilising properties.
3102.5	Sodium nitrate.
3102.6	Double salts and mixtures of calcium nitrate and ammonium nitrate.
3102.7	Calcium Cyanamide.
3102.8	Mixtures of urea and ammonium nitrate in aqueous or ammoniacal solution.
3102.9	Others.
31.03	Mineral or Chemical Phosphate fertilisers.
3103.1	Superphosphates.
3103.2	Slag.
3103.9	Other.
31.04	Potash mineral or chemical fertilisers.
3104.1	Carnallite, Sylvite and other crude salts of potash.
3104.2	Chloride of potash.
3104.3	Sulfate of potash.
3104.9	Other.
31.05	Mineral or chemical fertilizers containing two or three of the fertilizing elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; other fertilizers.
3105.1	Products of this Chapter in tablets or similar forms or in packages of a gross weight not exceeding 10 kg.
3105.2	Mineral or chemical fertilizers containing the three fertilizing elements: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
3105.3	DAP / Diammonium phosphate.
3105.4	MAP / mono ammonium phosphate, whether or not mixed with DAP.
3105.5	Mineral or chemical fertilisers containing the two fertilising elements nitrogen and phosphorus.
3105.51	Other mineral or chemical fertilisers containing nitrates and phosphates.
3105.59	Other fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphates.
3105.6	Mineral or chemical fertilisers containing the two fertilising elements: phosphorus and potassium.
3105.9	Other.
28.14	Anhydrous ammonia.
25.1	Phosphate rocks.