9 countries have committed to testing a system for interconnecting customs administrations. After five days of exchanges in Lomé, customs directors general from the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed, on Friday, June 9, 2023, the implementation of the Interconnected Transit Goods Management System (SIGMAT) within the

The 9 customs authorities will supervise the inspection of goods in the event of suspected irregularities and ensure that the results of checks are sent to the office of departure in a harmonized manner.

This project, which also provides for the training and awareness-raising of customs officials and operators on the use of SIGMAT, paves the way for the establishment of a single regional identification mechanism for economic operators and the regulation on the Community Transit Guarantee Mechanism. The SIGMAT project aims to secure international trade, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of transit procedures, prevent and fight against fraud, and enable the ECOWAS area to have databases for statistical purposes. The system is now operational between nine West African states, including Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Senegal, and Togo