User Guide- Antaser

This guideline of current procedures offers the visitors of the Antaser BV website a manual how to act at the different stages of the Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (ECTN) for the Central-African Republic, Guinea (Conakry), Guinea-Bissau, Niger.

1/ REGISTRATION.

Before being able to issue Electronic Cargo Tracking Notes (ECTN) or Advance Shipment Information (SPN) documents, users should register and create an electronic account by choosing the ‘ECTN/SPN application’ option left on the website, then clicking on the flag of the country of your choice and finally hitting the ‘Please register here’ tab. Users will be guided to the registration form, which has to be completed.

Along with all basic identification information (company name, name, email, address, …) you should confirm the language (English/French) you prefer to receive all future communication from our administrator, sent to the email address you confirmed in your registration.

Be noted:

The VAT number is mandatory for all European companies and will be checked in a public database.
The applicant is free to choose a Username.

Once you have completed the registration form, press ‘submit’.

Your account will be activated and your registration confirmed through an automatic email message, resuming your username and password to be used for any future connection. Username and password are case sensitive.

You can modify your data at any time under ‘users settings’ after logging in.

The ‘Antaser BV’ account is valid for the C.A.R., Guinea (Conakry), Guinea-Bissau, Niger.

2/ FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD.

If you forgot your password, you should click on ‘Forgot your password’ when having chosen a flag; you can then fill in your username and press ‘Send password’.

You will receive an email message, reconfirming your username and password.

3/ FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD AND USERNAME.

Users who forgot their password and username should address an email to info@antaser.com requesting to reconfirm both.

It is mandatory that your email is being sent from the original email address as it was confirmed in your initial registration.

4/ ELECTRONIC ACCOUNT.

The activation email sent after registration invites users to credit their electronic account by means of a bank transfer.

Users are recommended to deposit a minimum amount of Euro 250,- on the indicated bank account using the structured reference mentioned in the activation email.

Bank transfers to the wrong account or without structured reference will cause delays in payment registration and in the possibility to submit ECTN/SPN for (pre)validation.

When your remaining credit reaches Euro 100,- or less, an email will invite you to top up your account.

Be noted:

All bank charges are to be paid by the user.
Your electronic account will only be credited after final receipt of the transferred funds.

5/ CREATE A NEW ECTN/SPN.

For information:

Each individual Bill of Lading has to be covered by an ECTN/SPN, issued at the loading port.
Regularization at destination is not possible.

When issuing a new ECTN/SPN, the system offers brief on line assistance when pointing the item to be completed.

After having selected the flag of the country of his/her choice and inserted the username and password, the user will have access to his/her secured account and can proceed to the issuance of ECTN/SPN documents.

The ‘Add new ECTN/SPN’ mode provides an electronic form which the user has to complete.

A new ECTN/SPN can be added by:

Creating a new ECTN/SPN and completing all the blank fields
Copying a previous ECTN/SPN and amending/completing some fields with elementary, new information.

When creating a new ECTN/SPN, following main items appear:

SHIPPER AND RECEIVER: new shippers, forwarders, consignees and notifies are created by filling out all the requested information. These will automatically be stored in a private data base for later use by clicking ‘confirm’.

For Ghana, the cell phone number of the consignee is mandatory.

SHIPMENT DETAILS: ports of loading, transhipment and discharge, vessels, carriers, carriers’ agents, a.o. need to be chosen from drop down lists offered by the system. If carriers, their agents or vessels are not provided in the lists, same can be created by the user by clicking ‘NEW’. The administrator will automatically be notified and will have to register them before pre-validation of the ECTN/SPN is possible.

For certain countries the system foresees also a drop down list for the final place/country of delivery.

Number, date and copy of Bill of Lading are not yet required for the pre-validation.

INCOTERM (SHIPMENT TERM/DISCHARGING TERMINAL): need to be chosen from the drop down list(s), the chosen incoterm should match with the uploaded invoice(s).

MODE OF SHIPMENT: one or more modes of shipment are possible at the time.

For FCL and LCL, entered container numbers are automatically checked by means of algorithms. Wrong numbers will be rejected. In case of larger quantities of containers, an extensive list of container numbers can be uploaded in Excel format. Numbers have to be listed in the first (A) column of the Excel document.

The Consolidator’s name is mandatory for Ghana. In case the Consolidator’s agent’s name in Ghana is not automatically linked, same should be chosen from the drop down list or a new one created by the user.

For Roro-shipments, the total number of light (<5t unit weight) and heavy (as from 5t unit weight) vehicles needs to be filled in. Each individual chassis number must be entered, also the ones for stacked or coupled units. Again, Excel listing for larger quantities is possible.

ECTN/SPN for conventional shipments might require kind and number of packages.

ATTACHED DOCUMENTS: depending on the destination user needs to upload copies of the requested documents. Copies of the Bill of Lading and freight invoice are mandatory for the final validation only.

DESCRIPTION OF GOODS: has to be generated by making a selection in the Harmonized System Code data base. Users are free to choose several codes.

Commodity description(s) corresponding to the HS Code will appear on the final ECTN/SPN.

A help-function is available.

Information on DANGEROUS GOODS is required for certain destinations.

Users can add additional information on cargoes, containers, etc. in the free ‘REMARKS’ field.

One or more COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN can be chosen from the drop down list. The main country is the one supplying the main part of the consignment.

FREIGHT AND CHARGES can be indicated in Euro, USD and GBP.

The cargo value should match with the values mentioned on the export customs document and on the commercial invoice.

Place of freight payment should be chosen from the drop down list.

The users have to complete the ‘your reference’ (top/right – users file number) and ‘CTN filled in by’ (bottom – name of applicant) fields in order to facilitate searches after validation.

After filling out the ECTN/SPN form, the following steps are possible:

SAVE: a draft version is stored for further use or completion. The ECTN/SPN has not been submitted for (pre)validation, no credits have been subtracted and all inserted information can be amended at any time without any correction costs.
As soon as certain basic fields have been filled out (loading port, kind/ number of packages, …) the user can check the final cost of the ECTN/SPN by clicking ‘SHOW PRICE’.

PRE-VALIDATE: once all fields have been completed (except the BL-date and –number and uploaded BL copy and freight invoice), the user can pre-validate his ECTN/SPN, which will allow him to receive the ECTN/SPN-number. This number can be transmitted to the shipping line in order to obtain the required BL number. At this stage, credits will be subtracted and any further amendments to the ECTN/SPN (except the B/L-date, B/L-number, B/L-place of issue, shipped on board date, copy of the B/L, vessels name, voyage number, ETD, final destination/place of delivery and remark field) will be subject to a correction fee. An ECTN/SPN specimen copy can be printed. Once an ECTN/SPN has been pre-validated, credits have been deducted and can not be reimbursed.
A pre-validated ECTN/SPN should be completed and validated within 7 working days. If not, the ECTN/SPN will be cancelled and credits will be lost. All inserted data will disappear, the ECTN/SPN number becomes void and receivers won't be able to present a valid ECTN/SPN to the destination authorities.

VALIDATE: once the BL-number and –date have been completed and BL copy and freight invoice uploaded, the ECTN/SPN can be submitted for validation. The ECTN/SPN will be controlled by the administrator and within 2 working days the user will be notified by email about the final validation or possible remarks.

Be noted:

- Any further amendments will be subject to a correction fee.
- 7 calender days after their validation, ECTN/SPN will be final and will be closed for further electronic corrections.
- The client will always bear the final responsibility regarding the accuracy of the information filled out on the ECTN.

6/ OVERVIEW ECTN/SPN.

User can consult all previous ECTN/SPN, be it in draft, pre-validation or validation mode.

At this stage, drafts can be completed and/or (pre)validated, corrections made, PDF’s created and ECTN/SPN copied for re-use.

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