Describes the country's standards landscape, identifies the national standards and accreditation bodies, and lists the main national testing organization(s) and conformity assessment bodies.
Last Published: 3/26/2019

Overview

The national standard and certification agency, Côte d’Ivoire Normalisation
(CODINORM, see http://www.codinorm.org/ ), is a non-profit body created in September 1992 by the private sector with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s authorization.  CODINORM provides standards for business development, risk prevention, health, fair commercial transactions, and consumer protection.  Webb Fontaine is the government contractor providing e-governance software for goods value inspection at the ports and airport.

Standards

CODINORM has contracts with two companies, the Swiss and Dubai based firm Webb Fontaine, and the Swiss firm CÔTECNA Inspection Ltd., to undertake all qualitative and quantitative checks on goods shipped to or through Ivoirian Customs.

CODINORM now has an agreement with ASTM, an American Standards organization, allowing them to have free access to the ASTM library of more than 12,000 international standards, to use them as adaptation, or as basis of their national standards, and send reports to ASTM in return. This will help American firms navigate any standards issues.

NIST Notify U.S. Service

Testing, inspection and certification
Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other Member countries.  Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail subscription service that offers an opportunity to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations that can affect your access to international markets.  Register online.  Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country(ies) and industry sector(s) of interest, and can also request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Publication of technical regulations

Conformity Assessment
Webb Fontaine handles import inspection duties in Côte d’Ivoire for general merchandise and determines the real value of imports based on WTO provisions.  CÔTECNA Inspection Ltd. performs services related to temporary imports, and exports of petroleum products and forestry products.  All goods entering Côte d’Ivoire with an FOB value in excess of CFA 1 million ($2,000) must be inspected by the inspection company at the point of origin to ensure that invoice valuation is consistent with the goods actually shipped.  An inspection certificate is then used as the basis for customs valuation.  Exporters should note that the inspection process is triggered by the local (Ivoirian) importer when he/she files a declaration of intent to import, also known as a DAI (Déclaration Anticipée d’Importation).

The fee charged by Webb Fontaine for inspection services is 0.75 percent of the FOB value of the merchandise to supply on the market.  CÔTECNA receives 1.05 percent of the FOB value of merchandise, 0.8 percent for oil and 1 percent for wood before export.
A certificate of conformity for the supply of some products is required.  For foreign exporters, the Webb Fontaine’s Center of Export Relations is responsible for issuing the certificate of conformity.  For local companies, Webb Fontaine issues a certificate of product compliance during its bi-quarterly inspections.  All exporters to Côte d’Ivoire must have a certificate of conformity for customs clearance.

Product Certification

CODINORM requires that all products made in Côte d’Ivoire demonstrate proof of compliance with applicable laws and norms.  Specifically, Norme Ivoirienne (NI) labeling, or a certificate of compliance delivered by a certification product body accredited on the basis of an international standard (such as ISO/CEI 65 OR EN 45011), is required.  A growing number of Ivoirian companies have become ISO/9000 certified.

For further information please contact:
Webb Fontaine Côte d'Ivoire

Immeuble Plein Ciel
Boulevard Valery Giscard d'Estaing
26 BP 822 Abidjan 26 Ruling Center Help Desk
Telephone: (225) 2121 2395
Fax: (225) 2125 1225Skype: wfci_helpdesk
Email: info@webbfontaine.ci
http://www.webbfontaine.ci/

Accreditation
CODINORM accredits testing laboratories authorized to operate in Côte d’Ivoire
CODINORM grants approval for and disseminates Ivoirian government information on standards.

For further information, please contact:
Côte d’Ivoire Normalisation
Angle Blvd Latrille rue K115 villa 195
01 BP 1872 Abidjan 01
Tel: (225) 2001 1074
Fax: (225) 2241 5297
http://www.codinorm.org

Edmond KOUASSI, Director of the Information Center: 
edmondkouassi@codinorm.ci 
+225-22-41-17-91

Contact Information

The Political and Economic Section Chief at U.S. Embassy Abidjan is David Mosby.  The Economic and Commercial Officer is Jeremy Chen: ChenJH2@state.gov.  The Economic Specialist at U.S. Embassy Abidjan is Mr. Amantchi Beugre: BeugreAG@state.gov .  The Commercial Assistant at the U.S. Embassy Abidjan is Mr. Yaya Ouattara: OuattaraY@state.gov.  The Embassy’s telephone number is +225-2249-4000.
 

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More Information

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