West & North Africa / Togo
Auto export to Togo
Togo's port of Lomé is a deepwater transshipment hub and, like neighboring Cotonou, a re-export gateway more than a destination market. Lomé feeds the landlocked Sahel, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and competes with Benin for the Nigeria trade by keeping transit taxes even lower. Dapex can land your car at Lomé. The honest part is the same as for Benin: if the real destination is Nigeria or a Sahel country, the rules and duty belong to that destination, and we route to where the car actually clears.
For reference purposes only. Regulations, policies, and procedures change constantly. Ensure you verify and validate all requirements for your specific shipments before initiating any.
The Togo lane, in four numbers.
The Port of Lomé is a deepwater hub, the only natural deepwater port in the region, and a major transshipment point. Direct ocean call from the US.
Like Cotonou, Lomé is a re-export gateway. It feeds the Sahel and competes with Benin for the Nigeria trade on lower transit taxes. Togo itself is a small share.
Six container warehouses, five RoRo terminals. RoRo for running cars; container for salvage, high-value, or co-loaded cargo.
ECOWAS tariff, VAT 18%, very low transit taxes by design. Little to no age cap, in line with the re-export model. LHD.
A gateway that competes on transit.
Lomé's deepwater port lets it take large vessels directly, and Togo uses low transit taxes to pull regional cargo through it. It serves the same landlocked Sahel as Benin and competes for the Nigeria trade, often undercutting Cotonou on transit cost to make up for being a bit farther from the Nigerian border. As with Benin, the key question on any shipment is where the car actually ends up.
Cars that clear here or transit clean.
A car for a Togo buyer, or one moving under formal bonded transit to Burkina Faso, Mali, or Niger, lands at Lomé and clears under the ECOWAS tariff or a transit declaration. This is the lane Dapex runs: a real destination or a documented transit.
- Togo domestic registration, or
- Formal bonded transit to the Sahel
- ECOWAS tariff or transit declaration
- Documented end destination
If it's really Nigeria-bound.
Plenty of Lomé cargo is aimed at Nigeria. If that's the real destination, the honest route is a direct sea call to Apapa or Tin Can Island under Nigeria's own rules, not an informal overland run from Togo through Benin. We point you at the Nigeria page rather than build a shipment around a border dodge.
- Nigeria is the real destination for much
- Official route is Apapa by sea
- Land imports into Nigeria are restricted
- We point you at the Nigeria page
A direct ocean call to Lomé.
For a genuine Togo or documented Sahel-transit shipment, the car sails direct to Lomé and clears there. The US-side operation is the same as our other lanes; the destination has to be established before the car ships.
Container origins
Load at one of six container warehouses: NY/NJ, Savannah, Miami, Houston, Long Beach, Seattle. Container suits salvage, high-value cars, multi-car consolidation, or anything co-loaded with parts. A 40HC commonly takes four cars, five when they're small enough to nest, three when they're full-size, loaded to the safest high-density fit. Carriers include Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd, and Lomé's deepwater berths take large vessels directly.
Transit: roughly 20 to 35 days from the East Coast.
Customs: ECOWAS tariff and 18% VAT for a Togo entry, or a bonded transit declaration for documented onward movement to the Sahel.
RoRo origins
Five RoRo terminals: Baltimore, Brunswick, Galveston, Jacksonville, Port Hueneme. RoRo is the cheaper choice for a running car. Lines on the US-to-West-Africa lane include Grimaldi and Sallaum. Quarter-tank fuel maximum per SOLAS rules.
Not carried: shipments built around an informal overland run into Nigeria, which we won't run.
Personal effects permitted in containers, not in RoRo.
Lomé customs, and the destination question.
Togo clears cars under the ECOWAS tariff. As with Benin, the compliance work is mostly about establishing the real destination, since a Togo entry and a documented Sahel transit are clean while an informal Nigeria run is not.
ECTN certificate
Note that customers are required to obtain ECTN for all cargo discharging in Lomé, however it's permitted for it to be obtained either by shippers at port of export or receivers at port of discharge. DAPEX can assist with certificate processing at origin or consignee (receiver) can process it at destination, it is up to the customer to decide on how to proceed.
The clearance path
Destination check
The desk establishes where the car registers. Togo or a documented Sahel transit, we run it. Nigeria, we route it as a direct Nigerian sea call and point you to the Nigeria page.
US-side preparation
AES filing, ISF where required, HBL issuance, commercial invoice, packing list. Clean title or salvage certificate. HBL consigned to the Togo buyer or their clearing agent.
Customs at Lomé
For a Togo entry, the car clears the ECOWAS tariff plus 18% VAT. For onward movement, a bonded transit declaration covers the leg to the Sahel destination, where that country's duty applies.
Release and onward
The bill of lading releases against payment. A Togo-registered car takes local plates; a transit car moves overland under the bonded declaration to its documented destination.
Required documents
Original title or salvage certificate
Clean title for a running car, salvage certificate where applicable.
Commercial invoice on Dapex letterhead
Consignee, vehicle details, declared value, HBL number.
Bill of lading and packing list
HBL consigned to the buyer or their clearing agent. Transit declaration where the car moves onward to the Sahel.
French-language clearance documents
Togo customs work in French. The desk coordinates the French paperwork with the Lomé agent.
ECTN certificate
Can be obtained at origin (DAPEX can assist with processing) or destination (receiver processes it on their behalf at port of discharge).
What Dapex files US-side
AES filing with US Customs. ISF where required. HBL under Dapex's NVOCC license, consigned to the Togo buyer or their clearing agent. Commercial invoice and packing list on Dapex letterhead. Title verification through our title team before pickup, and the destination check before booking so a Nigeria-bound car is routed as a Nigerian sea call rather than an informal overland run. Standard consignee screening. Pre-alert pack to the Lomé clearing agent. The French-speaking West Africa desk owns the file end to end.
What moves through Lomé.
With little to no age cap, Lomé takes a broad range of US cars, in line with its re-export role. The line we hold is on the destination.
A broad range.
Sedans, SUVs, pickups, and salvage across a wide age band, since Togo's transit model doesn't cap age. The cars that move are the ones the eventual market wants.
Sahel-bound under bond.
Cars for landlocked Burkina Faso, Mali, or Niger, moving under a formal bonded transit declaration through Lomé's deepwater gateway. The destination country's duty applies at the end of the leg.
The informal Nigeria run.
Shipments built around dodging Nigerian duty by overland crossing. Nigeria restricts land imports, and that's a seizure risk. Beyond that, the standing Dapex rules hold: clean title or salvage certificate (25-year US Customs exception), no unreleased liens, no personal effects loose in RoRo. Quarter-tank fuel maximum on RoRo per SOLAS.
What moves the rate on this lane.
A clean ocean lane to a deepwater port. The rate depends on the carrier market and method; the bigger variable is whether the shipment is a genuine Togo entry, a bonded transit, or really a Nigeria call.
Our work, our cost.
- Warehouse operations
- Booking fee
- Documentation handling
- Title verification
- HBL issuance
- Destination and routing check
Carrier and routing-driven.
- Ocean freight (carrier-set)
- Fuel and bunker surcharges
- Lomé port handling
- Container versus RoRo choice
- ECOWAS tariff or transit bond
- Onward overland to the Sahel
Service standards.
- Compliance
- Documentation accuracy
- Submission urgency
- Dispatch priority
Lane-specific drivers
The destination decides the lane
A Togo entry, a Sahel transit, and a Nigeria call price and clear differently. We establish the real destination first.
Lower transit taxes
Togo undercuts Benin on transit cost to compensate for geography, which can favor a genuine Sahel transit through Lomé.
Deepwater berths
Lomé takes large vessels directly, which can help schedule and consolidation. Useful for container volume.
Container versus RoRo
A running car usually lands cheapest on RoRo. Salvage and high-value cars go container. The desk prices both.
Who handles Togo accounts.
The West Africa desk runs every Togo account, in French and English. Its first job is the destination check, the same as for Benin.
West Africa Desk
Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, and the wider West African markets. French and English. Business hours in Lomé time, plus extended hours by request. Lomé clearing-agent coordination on Dapex's Togo files.
What the desk owns.
The destination check before booking. The honest redirect to the Nigeria page when that's the real destination. Bonded transit coordination for Sahel-bound cars. French clearance paperwork with the Lomé agent. Title verification before pickup. Container-versus-RoRo call. File management through BL.
Things buyers ask about the Togo lane.
Lomé, a deepwater transshipment hub and one of the region's busier gateways. It's a direct ocean call from the US, container or RoRo, and the deepwater berths take large vessels directly.
Partly, but like Cotonou, Lomé is mostly a re-export gateway. It feeds the landlocked Sahel and competes with Benin for the Nigeria trade on lower transit taxes. We're clear about which kind of shipment yours is.
If Nigeria is the destination, the honest route is a direct sea call to a Nigerian port under Nigerian rules, not an informal overland run through Togo and Benin. Nigeria restricts land imports, so the back door is a seizure risk we won't run. The desk will set it up as a Nigeria shipment.
Yes, for Burkina Faso, Mali, or Niger, under a formal bonded transit declaration. The car clears transit at Lomé and moves overland to the documented destination, where that country's duty applies.
Lomé has deepwater berths that take large vessels directly, and Togo often undercuts Benin on transit taxes. For a genuine Sahel transit, that can make Lomé the better gateway. The desk prices both where it's a real choice.
Togo keeps low transit taxes and little to no age cap, in line with its re-export role. If the car is moving onward, the destination country's age rules are what matter.
Yes. Togo customs work in French, and the West Africa desk handles the file in French and English with the Lomé clearing agent.
Roughly 20 to 35 days from the East Coast to Lomé, then clearance or transit. The desk gives current numbers on the quote.
Ready to ship to Togo?
Send VIN, lot number, vehicle year, the US loading point, and where the car actually registers. We'll route a genuine Togo or Sahel-transit shipment cleanly through Lomé, or tell you straight if a Nigeria-bound car belongs on a direct Nigerian sea call, and point you to the Nigeria page.