"Customs exemptions": Colonel Malick Mbaye explains the rules to lawmakers

On October 16, 2026, Senegal’s Director General of Customs, Colonel Malick Mbaye, appeared before a parliamentary inquiry commission examining revenue waivers and the management of tax exemptions. He distinguished legal exemptions from duty-and-tax suspension arrangements, which defer payment on goods in customs warehouses, temporarily admitted, or intended for processing until they enter the domestic market. Mbaye said customs benefits must be grounded in legislation; customs verifies declarations, while the Public Treasury handles revenue collection. To limit abuse, the administration uses its Bureau of Franchises, GRET and GAIN tracking systems, and post-clearance checks.