PSI
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[ Foreign Vehicles ] [ Exemption List ] [ PSI of Imports ]

New Port Scanner

The Gambia Government has signed an agreement with Scanning Systems Ltd, under which the latter has installed and will operate scanners at the port of Banjul. The objective of this new scanning system is threefold: to speed up the processing of goods by the Customs and Excise Department at the port and airport; enhance security in The Gambia; and strengthen revenue collections.

With effect from June 20, 2005, all containers and motor vehicles being imported into and exported from The Gambia through the port will be scanned. A fee will be charged to the shipping agency - $80 for a loaded container and $20 for a vehicle and empty container.

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Gov't Revokes Tariff On Foreign Vehicles - July 2002

The Gambia The government has decided with immediacy to revoke the 100 percent ferry tariff levied on foreign vehicles crossing from the country to Senegal, which had triggered a week-long border stand-off between the two countries.

According to reliable sources, the government's decision to revoke the ferry tariff was a direct sequel to a meeting between a Gambian ministerial delegation and the Senegalese in Dakar on Wednesday. The Gambian delegation led by the Secretary of State for Works and Communication Edward Singhateh held bilateral talks with their Senegalese counterparts on the border standoff between the two countries, which saw cross-border traffic grinding to a halt. The Senegalese Transport Union had protested that the new tariff was adversely affecting them.

According to sources an agreement was reached between the two ministerial delegations to end the week-long stand-off and restore the spirit of good neighborliness. In the course of the meeting the Gambian delegates agreed to revoke the 100 percent ferry tariff on foreign vehicles and apply the old tariff.

Sources added that following the delegates' return the government immediately instructed The Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) to revoke the 100 percent tariff increment on foreign vehicles. Confirming the story a senior GPA official told The Independent that they were instructed last Thursday to abandon the new tariff for the old one. Reports suggest that the return to the old ferry tariff has finally put paid to the dispute between the two countries. According to reports the Senegalese Workers' Union welcomed The Gambia's decision and immediately lifted the embargo its had placed on vehicles from The Gambia bound for Senegal. Meanwhile according to reports received by The Independent, the Senegalese government have now reopen its borders and traffic have now returned to normal and vehicles have now started to move freely as in the past.

The Gambia and Senegal erupted last Monday when the Senegalese Workers Union in reaction to the increment of the Gambian tariff on foreign vehicles on July 9th closed its borders. This reportedly left an inimical impact on the Gambian economy, which depends largely on foreign exchange. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who was to go on an official mission to Mauritania was denied entry. In a similar development The Independent has been informed that some Senegalese nationals have mounted a sit down strike at the Trans-Gambia ferry crossing in Farafenni. According to reports the strike is aimed at expressing their concern to the old state of the ferry, which they said causes serious delays and frequent breakdowns. The strike is also said to be directed at what they called the frequent harassment of police officers stationed along the Trans-Gambia Highway.

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A New Exemption List - August 2000

The department of state for Finance and Economic Affairs has published another list of items exempted from the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) programme in addition to two previous lists. Watch this space for full details of this list.

The list was addressed to all members of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce with effect from 1st September 2000, exempted goods such as spare parts for vehicles, generators and bicycles, education materials and office stationery, all office equipment and accessories, cosmetics, generators, rubber materials including tyres and tubes, sauces and preparations and mixed seasoning, mustard (jumbo and ajinamoto cubes), all industrial machinery and accessories, welding rods, all fishing gear and accessories, agricultural and electric equipment, among many others.

The list was signed by Kebba T. Njie, chief executive of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Businessman operating in the county said the exemptions will encouarage business activities lost as a result of PSI.

President Jammeh had, during the initial inception of BIVAC, insisted that he was not going to compromise the programme as BIVAC was here to stay. However, reports since then have indicated that revenue collection has declined considerably as a result of BIVAC.

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The information given in this document has been given in good faith and believed to be correct at the time of writing. Please verify these facts with other relevant sources before using this as the basis of any action taken as we regret we cannot accept liability for an consequences due to inaccuracies in this information.

"THE CARRIER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISSING OR INCORRECT IDR/CRI NUMBERS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY REMAINS WITH THE MERCHANT. ANY FINES/ PENALTIES LEVIED AGAINST THE CARRIER ARE FOR THE MERCHANT'S ACCOUNT"