The trial in the fine coal case continued on Thursday 7 December 2023 at the Tribunal de grande instance of Ouaga I. The public prosecutor’s office called on the representative of the customs administration to respond to the case concerning the export of fine coal from Essakane.
At the opening of the trial, the prosecutor explained to the customs representative that the forensic experts had affirmed that the fine coal was not a residue from extraction and could not be exported in accordance with article 46 of the mining code.
The customs representative responded by pointing out that fine coal is a national product, and therefore free to be exported.
“According to article 46 of the mining code, fine coal is not an exportable product. What consequences can you therefore draw from the actions taken (by Essakane)?” asked the prosecutor.
“We cannot assess this part. It’s up to the Ministry of Mines to answer this question”, replied the representative of the customs administration, while pointing out to the prosecutor that he was interpreting Article 46.
When the prosecutor insisted on the same point, the customs representative said that if the export act was illegal, it should be inadmissible, and customs should not deal with the case.
The president of the court intervenes in the debates: “If the declarant has entered inaccurate data in the customs system, what is the behaviour of the customs administration?
“Normally, the declaration should not have been processed”, replied the customs representative.
The president of the court pointed out that in this particular case, it had been processed.
“If it’s been processed as in our case, it’s a bit complicated,” replies the customs representative.
“You said that exporting fine coal does not incur customs duties. Does this mean that the declaration is not important? What is the impact of such an export for the State?” asked the prosecutor, referring to the fact that the customs representative played down the false Essakane declaration by saying that there was no impact and that it was a simple contravention.
The customs representative replied that declarations are important and compulsory. He also added that when goods are exported outside the WAEMU zone, the State is entitled to receive foreign currency.
After the various parties had commented on the statements made by the customs representative, the president of the court brought the proceedings to a close, stating that at the next hearing, the BUMIGEB would appear to shed light on the prevention of forgery.
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