In accordance with the operational procedures at Tanzanian Ports, CY-CFS shipments are permitted. Shippers requesting the inclusion of a CY-CFS Status on the Bill of Lading must acknowledge and comply with the following conditions:
a. The CY-CFS status must be explicitly mentioned at the time of submitting the Shipping Instructions (SI) to ESL.
b. The name of the nominated Container Freight Station (CFS) at the destination must be clearly specified by the shipper in the “additional remarks”.
c. The shipper shall provide a Letter of Indemnity (LOI) on official letterhead, indemnifying the shipping line, its agents, and contractors from any costs, liabilities, or consequences arising from the inclusion of CY-CFS status on the Original Bill of Lading (OBL).
d. The shipping line’s responsibility shall cease upon discharge of the container at the Port of Dar-es-Salaam.
e. Movement of the container from the port to the nominated CFS shall be at the cost, arrangement, and risk of the shipper or their nominated CFS.
f. All charges related to CFS operations must be settled by the consignee or their appointed clearing agent prior to the issuance of the Delivery Order.
g. A maximum of 15 free days from the date of container discharge from vessel shall be granted for the return of the empty container. Thereafter, standard demurrage charges shall apply.
h. Any delay in destuffing may result in container demurrage, which shall be payable by the consignee or their appointed agent.
i. ESL shall collect a container deposit at destination.
USD 500 for 20-foot containers
USD 1,000 for 40-foot containers This deposit shall be refunded upon confirmation of container destuffing and receipt of an Empty Container Notification by ESL.
Starting December 1, 2025, all businesses importing branded goods into Mainland Tanzania must comply with a new trademark recordation system mandated by the Fair Competition Commission (FCC).
Customs will require proof that trademarks on imported goods have been officially recorded with the Chief Inspector of Merchandise Marks before allowing clearance.
Noncompliance may lead to delay in customs clearance at Tanzania.
Please be advised that the Tanzania Port Authority has arbitrarily implemented a USD210 ICD transfer fee for shipments bound to hinterland countries via Dar Es Salaam.
The Port Authority will transfer (at their discretion and choice) the containers to Kwala ICD.
While we are currently in the process of requesting rate proposals for the upcoming quarter from all our vendors and benchmarking these against prevailing market rates to ensure competitiveness, we currently have no choice other than to recover this additional cost from the shipper.
In-lieu of this new ICD transfer cost imposed by the Tanzania Port Authority, we hereby provide notice and request all POL agents to immediately include an updated revised bill of lading clause stating to the effect that where a shipment is nominated and transferred to Kwala ICD by the Tanzania Port Authority, then an additional charge of USD 210 per container will be payable by the shipper or freight payer.
Please note that currently, not all hinterland-bound containers are being nominated to Kwala ICD. The shipment nominations are based on the Tanzania Port Authority solely and the fee is non-negotiable
We are in communication with our vendors to have this additional charge built into the TBL all-inclusive rate and will provide you with a 30-day notice when concluded.
For now, please ensure with immediate effect you are notified and advise customers and bills of ladings accordingly for relevant TBL shipments via Dar Es Salaam.
Please be advised that in order to continue providing a reliable and active service to the ports of Zanzibar (Malindi) and Fumba, we hereby inform our customers of the following Peak Season Surcharge (PSS):
From date: 3rd June 2025 To date: until further notice Origins: Far East, Southeast Asia, India Sub-Continent, Arabian Gulf, East Med, Red Sea Destinations: Zanzibar (TZZNZ), Fumba (TZFMA) Cargo type: all
Should you have any inquiries relating to this regulation, please feel free to contact our local customer service representatives.
Effective 26th January 2025, the New Tanzania Customs Integrated System (NTANCIS) will require all import manifests classified under “IMPORT” to include the Consignee’s a 9-digit Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). This requirement is part of an initiative to improve data accuracy, streamline customs processing, and enhance integration between shipping lines and Customs brokers.
Key Points:
This requirement is effective from 26th January 2025.
The shippers must provide the consignee’s Tax Identification Number (TIN) at the time of sending Shipping Instructions
Applicable for shipments where Port of Discharge, Final Place of delivery, and Consignee’s address is Tanzania.
Not applicable for shipments where Port of Discharge, Final Place of delivery is Tanzania, but the Consignee’s address is not Tanzania
For consignments listed as “To Order,” Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the Notify party must be provided.
For consignments to banks, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the notify party must be provided.
To ensure compliance and delays in the clearance of the cargo, please provide the valid Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the consignee while submitting Shipping Instructions for your shipments to Tanzania.
With reference to the circular from TASAC (Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation), it is regulated that shipping lines cannot impose container cleaning charge for empty boxes returned by customers. The local authority has given below directives with effective 31st October 2019. We highly appreciate the full support of your good company for the strict compliance with immediate effect.
Clearing and forwarding agents shall return empty containers to ECD (depots) in clean condition in order to safeguard export cargo from Tanzania and any cleaning activity shall be arranged by individual clearing and forwarding agent or cargo owner; ECDs shall ensure containers are returned in clean condition before accepting them into the yard; and Shipping agents and ECDs shall not collect container cleaning charges from clearing and forwarding agents or cargo owners in the absence of Board Order to approve tariff for container cleaning or any similar services
For your best reference and arrangement per the basic standard of our company, a container shall be considered clean if there is no presence of:
Labels, marks or signs related to previous cargo, including hazardous cargo labels
Loose soil, sand, mud, dirt, cargo residue, animals, insects, dunnage or other general rubbish
Infestation by animals, insects, fungi or another living organism
Cargo securing devices such as metal or wire straps, cables, chains, string, rope, etc.
Tape plastic and/or any other material
Glue or adhesive or any other sticky material on walls, floor, ceilings, etc.
Nails, bolts or any other fixing devices protruding above the level of the floor
Any persistent, obnoxious or unpleasant odours in the container
Marks, stains or contaminations, including hydraulic fluid from cargo handling equipment & potentially hazardous contaminations
Loose sealant, internally in reefers
Please coordinate with your clearing and forwarding agents for the necessary arrangement and ensure the empty container return in clean and sound condition so as to avoid any delay in process. If you have any queries, please contact our local Customer Service and Sales for assistance.
We would like to draw your immediate attention on attached circular from Zanzibar Bureau of Standards (ZBS) for inspecting and verifying the quality of products destined to Zanzibar in countries of origin prior to shipment from 1st November, 2016. This is done under the PreExport Verification of Conformity to Standards (PVoC) programme. Please refer to the attached circular to the public for details.
We highly appreciate you to strictly comply with the new regulation for expediting cargo delivery in Zanzibar. Otherwise, any penalties, delay or any extra costs will be on shippers and consignees.
Please contact our local Sales and Customer Service Representatives for details and bookings.
