Côte d'Ivoire - Country Commercial Guide
Standards for Trade
Last published date:

Overview

The national standards and certification agency is Côte d’Ivoire Normalisation (CODINORM). CODINORM https://www.codinorm.ci/ is a non-for-profit body created in August 1992 by the private sector and with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s authorization.  CODINORM is a semi-governmental entity that receives subsides from the government. CODINORM provides standards for business development, risk prevention, health, fair commercial transactions, and consumer protection.  CODINORM has an agreement with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) International (https://www.astm.org/), an American standards organization, allowing CODINORM free access to the ASTM library of more than 22,000 international standards.  This serves as the basis for comparing Ivoirian national standards with American standards, helping American firms navigate standards issues in Côte d’Ivoire and West Africa.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

CODINORM accredits testing laboratories authorized to operate in Côte d’Ivoire and grants approval for and disseminates Ivoirian government information on standards.  CODINORM requires that all products made in Côte d’Ivoire demonstrate proof of compliance with applicable laws and standards.  Specifically, CODINORM requires Norme Ivoirienne (NI) labeling, or a certificate of compliance delivered by a product certification body accredited on the basis of an international standard (such as ISO/CEI 65 OR EN 45011).  A growing number of Ivoirian companies have become ISO9000 certified.

The Ivoirian Customs Office handles import inspection duties in Côte d’Ivoire for general merchandise and determines the real value of imports based on Word Trade Organization (WTO) provisions.  Importers get their inspection certificate at the port of departure before loading.  The following four international inspection companies were accredited to carry out goods inspections:

  • Cotecna Inspection Ltd
  • Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS)
  • Bureau Veritas Valuation Assessment and Control (BIVAC-BV)
  • Intertek International Ltd

These private inspection companies also perform services related to temporary imports, and exports of petroleum products and forestry products. 

A certificate of conformity for the supply of some products is required.  For foreign exporters, the National Single Customs Window Platform is responsible for issuing the certificate of conformity.  For local companies, the platform issues a certificate of product compliance during its inspections every six months.  All exporters to Côte d’Ivoire must have a certificate of conformity for customs clearance.

Publication of Technical Regulations

The Official Journal (Journal Officiel) is the national gazette.  Proposed technical regulations are not published for comment.  Final regulations are published in the Official Journal.

Contact Information :

Guichet unique du commerce extérieur

Immeuble Plein Ciel

Boulevard Valery Giscard d’Estaing

26 BP 822 Abidjan 26, Ruling Center Help Desk

Telephone: (225) 27 2121 2399

                

Côte d’Ivoire Normalisation (CODINORM)

Angle Blvd Latrille rue K115 villa 195

01 BP 1872 Abidjan 01

Tel: (225) 272001 1074

Fax: (225) 272241 5297

 

Edmond KOUASSI

Director of the Information Center

               edmondkouassi@codinorm.ci 

+225 27-22-41-17-91

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. 

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present.  ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts.  Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest. 

Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life. Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point.  National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat.  All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point.  Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.