Destination Clearance, Not Just Ocean Carriage
Most shipments do not go wrong at sea. They go wrong at the port of discharge, where nobody is accountable and the storage meter is running. In West Africa and Madagascar we arrange the clearance ourselves.
West AfricaMadagascarFrench & English documentation
The Real Risk
Why Destination Clearance Determines Shipment Success
A vessel delay costs a week. A clearance failure costs the shipment. Vehicles are high-value, easily inspected and heavily documented cargo: valuation disputes, missing conformity documents and permit gaps are what hold them at the port, and demurrage accrues daily while they are argued over.
What clearance failure looks like
- Vehicle sitting on the quay accruing storage and demurrage
- Valuation challenged, with no one present to argue the invoice
- A permit or conformity number that should have been obtained before sailing
- Documents in the wrong language for the customs administration
What it looks like when one party handles both ends
- Documents prepared in China to match what the destination will ask for
- Tracking and conformity numbers obtained before the vessel sails
- One contact from the supplier’s yard to the vehicle released at destination
- No handover gap where the shipper blames the broker and the broker blames the shipper
Coverage
Clearance Coverage by Country
| Country | Port | Clearance | Language of documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | Douala | Yes | French |
| Nigeria | Lagos / Apapa | Yes | English |
| Ghana | Tema | Yes | English |
| Senegal | Dakar | Yes | French |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Abidjan | Yes | French |
| Madagascar | Toamasina | Yes | French |
| Benin | Cotonou | Yes | French |
| Togo | Lomé | Yes | French |
| Mali / Burkina Faso | Inland via Dakar, Abidjan or Tema | We do not arrange inland transit; cargo moves to the gateway port and the consignee’s broker handles onward transit | French |
Outside these markets we ship and hand over to a broker nominated by the consignee. We would rather say that than promise coverage we cannot deliver.
Scope
Scope of Our Clearance Service
- Import declaration lodged in the importer’s name
- Tariff classification and duty and tax assessment
- Coordination of any inspection or conformity verification
- Liaison with the terminal for release and gate-out
- Document sets prepared in French for francophone customs administrations
- Status reporting to the consignee through to release
What Is Not Included
- Duties, taxes and port charges — these are the importer’s cost
- Demurrage or storage caused by documents the consignee has not supplied
- Changes to declared value after submission
- Inland delivery beyond the port unless agreed in writing
Language
Francophone Market Documentation
Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Madagascar all clear cargo in French. A commercial invoice and packing list that only exist in English slow the file down and invite questions that a French-language document set avoids entirely.
- Commercial invoice and packing list issued in French
- Certificate of origin prepared for the destination administration
- Vehicle descriptions using the terminology the customs officer expects — benne for a tipper body, tracteur for a truck head
- Consistency between the French and English versions where both are needed
Before Sailing
Consignee Requirements Before Sailing
- Importer of record details and tax identification
- Any import permit or licence the commodity requires
- Confirmation of who pays duties and taxes
- Delivery address and contact after release
- Whether the vehicle will be re-exported onward to an inland country
These are needed before the vessel sails, not after it arrives. Late consignee documentation is the single largest cause of demurrage on vehicle shipments.
Shipping to West Africa or Madagascar?
Ask for the through service — export in China, carriage, and clearance at the destination — quoted as one scope.
Request a QuoteQuestions we get asked often
Do you clear cargo in every country you ship to?
No. We arrange clearance in West Africa and Madagascar. Elsewhere we ship and hand over to the consignee’s licensed broker, and we tell you that at the enquiry stage rather than after the vessel sails.
Who pays the duties?
The importer. We calculate and lodge the assessment, but duties, taxes and port charges are the importer’s cost and are paid by them or on their instruction.
Can you clear a vehicle that arrives without a conformity or tracking number?
It depends on the country and the commodity, but the answer is usually no, or only with penalty. These numbers are obtained before sailing for exactly that reason.
Can you deliver inland after clearance?
Yes where agreed in writing, including transit regimes for landlocked destinations. It must be quoted in advance because it changes the customs procedure.
Do you issue documents in French?
Yes — for Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar and the other francophone markets we clear in, the document set is prepared in French.