Cameroon BESC certificate

Transit to Chad and the C.A.R. does not take a Cameroon BESC

Douala is the gateway for two landlocked countries, so this is the first question on most Cameroon bookings — and the answer is the opposite of Benin’s.

Cargo discharged at Douala or Kribi but destined for Chad or the Central African Republic does not take a Cameroon BESC. Those countries run their own certification, and that is the certificate the shipment needs.

The Cameroon BESC applies where the consignee is in Cameroon. If the final destination is N’Djamena or Bangui, the Cameroonian certificate cannot properly be applied to the shipment even though the container is discharged at a Cameroonian port.

This is worth being deliberate about, because Benin treats the same situation differently — cargo through Cotonou to Niger needs both certificates. Two neighbouring gateways, two opposite rules. The discharge port does not tell you which applies; the final destination does.

Two days before arrival, and the penalty is severe

Since 1 January 2022, the BESC must be validated no later than two days before the cargo arrives in Cameroon.

Cameroon is among the strictest enforcers on the continent. Regularising a certificate after that deadline attracts a penalty of 200% of the value of the certificate. Where cargo arrives with no valid BESC at all, penalties assessed at destination can reach 30% to 50% of the CIF freight value, before storage and demurrage.

That is a materially different order of cost from most destinations, where a penalty is a multiple of the certificate fee. In Cameroon it is calculated against the shipment.

Your consignee’s numbers are mandatory

Two identifiers must appear on the declaration, and neither belongs to you:

• The consignee’s NIU — the taxpayer number, fourteen characters
• The PR number, the transaction reference the importer obtains through the Guichet Unique, the single window at the Port of Douala

Cameroonian authorities link the import declaration to the BESC through the PR number. Without it the certificate cannot be completed, and a shipment that reaches Douala with a mismatch between the two creates problems for the importer at clearance.

Ask your consignee for both at the quotation stage. The importer obtains the PR number quickly through the Guichet Unique, but only once they act.

Vehicles: the FIMEX rule since May 2025

A newer requirement that catches vehicle shippers.

Since 1 May 2025, RoRo vehicle shipments require the shipper to provide either proof of registration in the FIMEX Importers/Exporters File, or a valid Special Import Authorization. The final validated certificate is not issued until one of the two is submitted.

As elsewhere in the region, the containerised-versus-RoRo distinction also matters. If vehicles or chassis are loaded inside containers, the shipment must be declared as containerised and the container references shown correctly on the Bill of Lading. Otherwise it is issued as RoRo.

Who administers it

The BESC is issued under the authority of CNCC, the Conseil National des Chargeurs du Cameroun, under the Ministry of Commerce. The requirement dates from Decree 00557/MINT of 11 July 2006, with subsequent MINCOMMERCE regulation.

One certificate per Bill of Lading

Each Bill of Lading requires its own BESC. There is no consolidation across bills, no exceptions for related consignments moving on the same vessel.

The original Bill of Lading is required before the final certificate can be issued, so the draft stage can begin early but validation waits on the original.

What the invoice must show

The value breakdown has to match the incoterm. On a CIF invoice, the FOB value, sea freight and insurance premium must each be stated alongside the CIF total. On EXW or FOB terms, a separate sea freight declaration is required because the freight value is not otherwise on the file.

The commercial invoice should be stamped and signed.

Ports

Douala handles the majority of Cameroon’s container traffic and serves as the corridor for Chad and the Central African Republic. Kribi, the deepwater port, takes larger vessels and a growing share of volume. Limbe handles smaller traffic.