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SIERRA LEONE

WAIVER REQUIREMENTS ECTN

Electronic Cargo Tracking Note

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a country located on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by 2 countries: in the South-East by LIBERIA and in the North-East by GUINEA.

The Sierra Leone Ports Authority in 2002 issued a decree that requires all sea cargo destined for their country to have a Cargo Tracking Note (CTN).

Some shipping lines may not load cargo without the CTN number.

Port

  • FREETOWN

Documents and Informations required

  • Bill of Lading or booking confirmation from the Shipping line
  • Commercial invoice: currency must be mentioned in $ or €
  • Freight charges in the same currency as mentioned on the commercial invoice
  • H.S. code
  • ETS & ETA
  • Country of Origin of the goods
  • Custom document

Additional information

  • It is not mandatory to mention a CTN number for Sierra Leone on the Master Bill of Lading
  • A pre-validated ECTN document should be completed and validated within 5 working days. If not, the ECTN will be cancelled. All costs involved will be for the applicant’s account.

Procedure

  • Submit the required documents by email or online.
  • You will be sent a draft for pre-validation and an invoice, typically within the same day.
  • Once your payment has been received and you approve the draft, a validation will be sent with the CTN number.

Timeline

  • The ECTN must be validated before the vessel arrives at the destination.
  • The CTN is validated by the authorities in the destination country, the process from submitting a request to final validation can take more than 3 days.

Penalties

  • Cargo arriving without a Cargo Tracking Note may be subject of fines and delays.