Complaint

Complaint number
NTB-000-007  
NTB Type
2.9. Issues related to transit fees  
Complaint
Members of the Borderless Alliance (BA) have raised the need to streamline transit processes and reduce the costs of transit in Benin. Even for ECOWAS approved products which should transit freely across the region, get into many transit issues in Benin.  
Status note
The good news: As a result the continuous engagement with the Benin authorities over the periods, the Benin government, through the Customs have made revised the tax regime relative to transit and domestic trade. Reference to the new directive, Loi No 2014-24 DU 23 DECEMBRE 2014 portant loi de finances pour la gestion 2015, the statisitics tax. The document can be found on the notification page.  
Progress update note
1. On September 25th, 2014, the BA conducted an advocacy meeting with the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Benin in Cotonou, in order to address some of the challenges faced by the West Africa business community when using Benin as a transit country. These challenges included the high transit fees imposed by the Government of Benin in contradiction with ECOWAS and the WTO regulations regarding transit goods. BA presented to the Minister an advocacy document targeted towards the elimination of transit fees and identified non-tariff barriers as a means of increasing trade and country competitiveness. The document informed the Minister of Finance on the benefit of reducing transit costs, which will in turn increase transit traffic, and drive total revenue up. Advocacy for the reduction of transit fees and costs along the corridors was also discussed.

2. A follow-up broader stakeholders meeting over diner in Cotonou on November 21, 2014 under the theme “Facilitation du Commerce et des Transports : Quel impact sur la compétitivité de l’Economie Béninoise » . The National Committee of the Alliance Borderless initiated public-private dialogue, bringing together all the players in the business environment, in order to discuss the constraints on the private sector and propose solutions to improve the overall competitiveness of the Beninese economy.  
Policy or regulatory NTB
Yes 
Location
Benin: Hillacondji (Border post)  
Reporting Country
Niger  
Reporting Town
 
Date of incident
2014-02-19  
Status
Resolved  
Date of resolution
2015-01-20  
Product Description
 
Product Originating Country
 
Total value
0  
Date reported
2015-02-05 17:53  
Modified
2015-02-05 18:18