Yes sister jabou it is true and those fees have nothing to do with customs duty.
My cousin told me about it three months ago and I raised the issue on the L -RE
economic development to be done in small steps not giant leaps.
What the company does is to certify the contents so people cannot commit fraud
and lie on the forms or invoices as the what they are shipping. The Gambia
customs then will assess their own duty based on this independent report. It is
an advance form of double-checking but will make the cost of shipping  items much
higher . These people must be paid for their time and services- i.e. the $250
plus on each container.
It is not a bad idea but it is VERY PREMATURE for us yet. It could have been done
in gradual stages. If you check the archives you will find my input .
Unfortunately I have deleted all of mine to clean up and get more space.
We are moving at a very fast space- literally running before we can walk.
All of this is because of a few dishonest people so we all have to pay the price.

It is not completely the fault of the Government to be fair.
This is my humble opinion . My experiences with the Chamber of commerce exposed
me to such reports. Example in the USA to export food the USDA have to issue
,health certificates ,protasanitary cert., vet cert. ICO standards cert but the
US company pays those costs not the importer. -just shedding some light here on
this new subject
Habib Diab Ghanim

Jabou Joh wrote:

> Can someone please verify  the following information for me, and let me know
> if it is true or false, and what the correct information is?
>
> A business associate and l were making enquiries about shipping a container
> of goods to Gambia and were told the following:
>
> That for all containers of goods being shipped to Gambia now, the shipper has
> to contact a French company called BIVVAK, and pay them $250.00 to obtain a
> form to complete. This company will then do an inspection of the container (
> not sure what this inspection is for) and clear the container before it can
> be shipped? It is also my understanding that the customs duty to be paid once
> the goods arrive in Gambia have nothing to do with this $250 fee to be paid
> for this inspection form from the French company. It was also said that this
> French company was contracted by the government to perform this service? Is
> all this true? Can someone please shed some light on this? Any assistance
> will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Jabou
>
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