Summary
I-INTRODUCTION
The exploitation of Minerals is governed by Law n° L2014-138 of 24 March 2014 on the mining code and by Decree n°D2014-397 of 25 June 2014 determining the modalities of application of Law L2014-138 of 24 March 2014. The Importation of Rough Diamonds is reserved to Purchasing Offices approved by the Ministry of Mines and Energy – (Cf. Order N°A2014.502/MIM of 10 November 2014).
As regards Diamonds, Côte d’Ivoire joined the Kimberley Process in 2003 (Tripartite International Negotiation Forum bringing together representatives of States, the Diamond Industry and Civil Society and which has, since May 2000, aimed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the international market through an International Diamond Certification Scheme).
Thus, all imports of rough diamonds must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process Certificate – (Cf. Article n°108 of Decree n° 2014-397 of 25 June 2014).
The competent authority of the Kimberley Process in Côte d’Ivoire is the Permanent Secretariat of the Kimberley Process Representation in Côte d’Ivoire, abbreviated as SPRPK-CI.
Ministry of Mines and Energy
Abidjan – Plateau
Immeuble Postel 2001, 22nd and 16th floor
BP V 65 – Côte d’Ivoire
Direction Générale des Mines et de la Géologie
Abidjan – Plateau
Cité Administrative, Tour E 15th floor
Tel: (+225) 20 22 20 27
Permanent Secretariat of the Kimberley Process Representation in Côte d’Ivoire (SPRPK-CI)
Abidjan – Vridi, Immeuble Pétroci
Email: SPRPK-CI@gmail.com
II-AUTHORISATION TO IMPORT
The import of rough diamonds from countries participating in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is authorised on the territory of Côte d’Ivoire for the Buying Offices listed by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. In accordance with Article n°107 of Decree n°2014-397 of 25 June 2014 determining the modalities of application of Law n°2014-138 of 24 March 2014 on the Mining Code, the Approval in the capacity of Rough Diamond.
Purchasing, Import and Export Offices is granted by Order of the Minister of Mines and Energy, for a renewable period of three (3) years, to legal entities with no previous history of illicit trade and no links to suspicious networks and who undertake to comply with all the requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to undertake this activity.
Diamonds to be imported must also possess a Kimberley Process Certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country.
III-PROCEDURES
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PROCEDURE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PURCHASING, IMPORT AND EXPORT OFFICE
The establishment of a Buying Office is done through an application – Cf. Order N°502/MIM of 10 November 2014.
The application file for the granting or renewal of the Approval of a Rough Diamond Buying, Selling, Importing and Exporting Office must include, under penalty of inadmissibility, the following elements:
- A letter of application addressed to the Minister of Mines and Energy.
- The Articles of Association of the company.
- A Trade Register for the purpose of “Purchase, Sale, Export and Import of Diamonds”.
- A passport photo of the manager.
- A Certificate of Nationality of the Manager.
- Criminal record of the Manager dated less than three (3) months.
- A Certificate of Residence of the Manager.
- A certificate of tax regularity dating less than one (1) year.
- A bank certificate of credit balance of at least ten (10) million CFA francs and dating less than three (3) months.
- A document identifying the financial institutions with which the resources will be domiciled.
- The list of countries where the Company is established, with copies of the approvals obtained.
- A list of all affiliated companies.
- The complete list of all shareholders holding at least 10% of the shares, with their address and main activity.
- Receipt of payment of the fixed fee of thirty (30) million CFA francs provided for by the mining regulations – (Cf. Decree n° 2014-632 of 22 October 2014) and this, both for an allocation and for a renewal.this fee may be payable in three (3) equal fractions of ten (10) million CFA francs each, the first of which, at the time of the application and the other fractions, no later than the anniversary date of the issuance of the authorisation to the purchasing office (during the 2nd year)
The application file is to be submitted to the Directorate General of Mines and Geology (Cité Administrative, Plateau, Tower E 15th floor, at the Mail Service) in four (4) physical copies, one of which is marked “Original” and the other three marked “Copy”. These documents must be accompanied by a digital version on a USB key.
Time limit for obtaining: 90 days
Validity period: 3 years.
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OBTAINING THE PURCHASE, IMPORT AND EXPORT OFFICE APPROVAL
The instruction of the requests for Approval of Office of Purchase and Authorization relating to the Importation and Exportation of rough Diamond includes the following successive stages:
- The verification of the admissibility of the file.
- The control and the analysis of the presented documents.
- Notification of the decision to the applicant.
- The time required to obtain an approval is approximately one (1) month.
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CUSTOMS PROCEDURE
The Customs Circular n° 2013-1632/ DGD of 26 August 2013 describes the Customs procedure which is in line with the one indicated in the Kimberley Procedures Guide. The competent Customs office to receive the Accounting Declarations for all Customs procedures concerning Rough Diamonds is the Customs Office of Felix Houphouët Boigny Airport.
Rough Diamonds imported for direct consumption are subject to the duties set out in the tariff for entry into the national territory – [Cf. Customs Tariff]. The procedure prescribed for the import of rough Diamonds is simplified customs clearance at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny airport.
The bearer of the Diamond in the rough package(s) must present himself at the express customs clearance counter on arrival. The customs inspector will check the following elements:
- The membership of the country of origin and the country of provenance of the Rough Diamond to the KPCS (Kimberley Process Certification Scheme).
- The authenticity of the KP Certificate of Origin.
- Integrity of the seal of the package(s).
- Commercial Invoice.
- Approval of the Buyer’s, Importer’s and Exporter’s Office.
In case of import for direct consumption
The auditor proceeds to the pre-liquidation and the import duties are recovered by the agent of the Airport’s annexed revenue – [Cf. Calculation of customs duties].
In the event that the amount of pre-liquidated duty is not immediately available, a hold on the parcels is issued to the importer and the rough diamonds are held at the Airport until actual clearance. At the end of the process, the auditor issues a corresponding Retail Declaration (in the Customs Declaration System – SYDAM, Sydonia World) or issues a T6 bis Receipt.
In the event of an irregularity, Ivorian Customs refers the matter to the Customs of the exporting country for verification of the authenticity of the PK Certificate.
The Ivorian Customs then refers the matter to the KPRS-CI, which prepares a report on suspect consignments for the Chair of the Kimberly Process.
In case of fraud, a Technical Certificate is prepared on the advice of the Kimberley Process Working Group of Diamond Experts (WGDE), through the SPRPK-CI
In case of import under the temporary admission regime
The temporary admission of diamonds into Côte d’Ivoire is done under the cover of the ATA Carnet.
The Airport Brigades and Economic Regimes Division, through the Customs General Surveillance Sub-Division of the Airport, is in charge of handling parcels of rough diamonds under temporary admission on the national territory.
On arrival, the following documents must be produced:
- The ATA Carnet duly completed for the intended operation.
- The Original PK Certificate (or certified copy).
- The Commercial Invoice.
The Customs Service checks the authenticity of the documents attached to the ATA Carnet.
The auditor checks the marks and completeness of the seals before affixing the Customs Service’s visa on the “Import” sheet.
On exit, the documents to be presented are the following:
- The ATA Carnet
- The Commercial Invoice
After checking the marks and the integrity of the seal(s), the ATA Carnet must be presented to the competent Airport Service for the exit visa on the “Export” sheet.
Finally, the Service ensures that the passenger and the package are actually boarded.
- LIST OF PRODUCTS
| SH Code | Designation |
| 7102.100000 | Diamond |
| 7102.210000 | Diamond |
| 7102.310000 | Diamond |