Database

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COTE D'IVOIRE

Since July 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Ordinance No. 2019-679 of 24 July 2019 on the Public Procurement Code (Ordonnance No. 2019-679 du 24 juillet 2019 portant Code des marchés publics)
Arts. 43.4 and 73 of Ordinance No. 2019-679 provide that any contracting authority must apply a margin of preference of not more than 15% to:
- A bid submitted by a bidder who intends to subcontract at least 30% of the overall value of the contract concerned to a local small and medium-sized enterprise.
- Any bid submitted by a bidding community enterprise, that is, an enterprise whose registered office is located in a Member State of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
Coverage Horizontal

COTE D'IVOIRE

Since July 2019

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Ordinance No. 2019-679 of 24 July 2019 on the Public Procurement Code (Ordonnance No. 2019-679 du 24 juillet 2019 portant Code des marchés publics)
Art. 19.4 of Ordinance No. 2019-679 provides that each contracting authority must set aside annually for small and medium-sized enterprises a minimum share of 30% of the estimated value of contracts for works, goods or services.
Coverage Horizontal

COTE D'IVOIRE

Reported in 2022, last reported in 2023

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Lack of transparency in public procurement
The public procurement process is reported to be legally open, but in some cases, it is perceived as opaque in practice, and public contracts are occasionally awarded outside of public tenders. Some foreign companies reportedly win contracts through long-standing relationships with government officials or with the help of partnerships with Ivorian business entities closely linked to the government. During tender negotiations, the Ivorian government imposes local content requirements on foreign companies. In addition, although there are regulations governing sole-source procurement, there have been instances where the government has awarded sole-source tenders without competitive bidding, citing a company's high technical capacity or declaring an emergency. Many companies continue to identify corruption as an obstacle to a transparent understanding of procurement decisions.
Coverage Horizontal

COTE D'IVOIRE

N/A

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Signatory of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) with coverage of the most relevant services sectors (CPC 752, 754, 84)
Lack of participation in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)
Côte d'Ivoire is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2020.
Coverage Horizontal

COTE D'IVOIRE

Since July 2013

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Maximum foreign equity share
Law No. 2013-546 of July 30, 2013 on E-commerce (Loi No. 2013-546 du 30 juillet 2013 relative aux transactions électroniques )
Law No. 2013-546 does not lay down any obligations regarding the maximum share of foreign capital for investment.
Coverage Horizontal

COTE D'IVOIRE

Since March 2012

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Indicator Commercial presence requirement for digital services providers
Ordinance No. 2012-293 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies (Ordonnance No. 2012-293 relative aux Télécommunications et aux Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication)
Ordinance No. 2012-293 provides for licenses under which a company is allowed to establish, operate networks or provide telecommunications services. Obtaining an individual license is subject to the following conditions: being a legal entity under Ivorian law, having the technical and financial capacity, having an operating plan for the individual license that complies with the criteria established in the specifications, committing to comply with the applicable law, in particular, this Ordinance and its implementing provisions, as well as the specifications appended to the license for which it applies (Art. 9). In practice, however, this requirement does not seem to prevent foreign providers from offering their services across borders.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

COTE D'IVOIRE

Since February 1999, entry into force in February 2002, last amended in December 2015
Since December 2019, entry into force in March 2020

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Indicator Practical or legal restrictions related to the application process for patents
Bangui Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization, Constituting a Revision of the Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African and Malagasy Office of Industrial Property (Bangui (Central African Republic), 2 March 1977) (Accord de Bangui relatif à la création d'une organization Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, constituant révision de l'Accord relatif à la création d'un Office Africain et Malgache de la Propriété Industrielle (Bangui (République centrafricaine), le 2 mars 1977)

Regulations on the Profession of Authorised Agent Before the African Intellectual Property Organization (Règlement sur la profession de Mandataire agréé auprès de l'Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle)
According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Côte d'Ivoire, applicants resident outside the territory of the Member States must file through an agent selected in one of those Member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.
Coverage Horizontal

COTE D'IVOIRE

Since April 1991

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Indicator Participation in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Côte d'Ivoire is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

Reported in 2022, last reported in 2024

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator Threshold for ‘De Minimis’ rule
Low de minimis threshold
It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 12, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator Framework for consumer protection applicable to online commerce
Lack of comprehensive consumer protection law applicable to online commerce
Congo does not have a legal framework that applies consumer protection to online transactions.
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

Since January 2014, entry into force in August 2014

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator Ratification of the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
Congo has signed and ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Congo has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Congo has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

Since October 2015

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Self-certification for product safety
Supplier Declaration of Conformity not allowed for foreign businesses
Certification of conformity must be approved by the Congolese Agency of Normalization and Quality (ACONOQ). ACONOQ is responsible for certifying the conformity of products, goods, services, management systems, and personnel competencies to standards. Furthermore, all imports into Congo must have a conformity certificate issued by ACONOQ. Although the homologation process does not require local labouratory testing or contact with local representatives, product samples must be submitted to the authority for inspection.
Coverage Horizontal

CONGO

Since November 2009

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Restrictions on encryption standards
Law No. 9-2009 of 25 November 2009 on Electronic Communication Sector (Loi No. 9-2009 du 25 Novembre 2009 Portant Réglementation du Secteur des Communications Électroniques)
Art. 145 of the Law on Electronic Communication mandates the persons or suppliers of cryptology services to disclose the technical characteristics of the source code of the software to be used by the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI).
Coverage Cryptology service

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