Libya ECTN
The 1st January 2021, Libya Customs Officials renewed the ECTN regulation making it mandatory for all shipments to Libya. Without this certificate, you will be facing severe consequences and a sizeable penalty for breaching the order. But if you are using Libya for transit purposes, in some cases, the ECTN certificate isn’t mandatory. The ECTN is obligatory for all ports in Libya. Such as Benghazi, Tripoli etc.
Warning: Despite being mandatory and crucial for the process, most people miss and overlook this certificate. The rumours circulating about the Libya CTN yet to be introduced is false. We hear from exporters who disregard the CTN requirement initially only to find out that they will need to pay for certificate, penalties for late submission and port storage cost when cargo arrives. Here on the right you can see the copy of Circular published by Customs department of Libya.
What are the required documents?
- Bill of Lading: It contains details about the exporter, the importer, the weight of the goods, the shipping line, the vessel name, etc.
- Freight Invoice: This is only a requirement if the freight cost is not on the Commercial Invoice.
- Commercial Invoice: It contains the details of the goods, the freight cost, the incoterm, and some other charges if there is any, etc..
- Certificate of Origin: Exporter will obtain this from chamber of commence in the origin country.
What are the consequences of not having it?
You must have the ECTN certificate five days before the vessel arrives at the latest. If not, you will be facing a penalty fee twice the amount of the ECTN plus the regulation fee determined by the Libyan National Port Officials. In addition, you will need to pay the demurrage charges for starting clearing process due to delayed ECTN application. You also risk the cargo being rejected and returned to port of origin on the same vessel.
Pricing
Certificate cost depends on the number of Bill of Ladings and the containers, the country of origin, the port of discharge, etc. This is why we can’t give you an exact price for the ECTN. But if you share your shipment’s details with us we can provide you the best charges for your certificate. We offer free quotation.
