Car Shipping from UK to Tanzania — Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam Port has dedicated RoRo and container terminals and is one of the better-managed ports on the East African coast. RoRo vehicles discharge at the TICTS RoRo ramp and are released through customs to a dedicated vehicle yard. Containers are handled at TICTS or the Kurasini terminal.

For shipments destined for Zambia, Malawi, Burundi or the eastern DRC, Dar es Salaam offers RIT (Removal in Transit) bonds — the vehicle is sealed at the port and cleared at the inland destination, avoiding Tanzanian duty.

All used vehicles entering Tanzania must pass a Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) inspection of roadworthiness at the country of export. The inspection is carried out by JEVIC or equivalent approved agencies in the UK, before loading.

The inspection verifies the VIN, year of manufacture, roadworthiness and emissions compliance. A Roadworthiness Inspection Report (RIR) is issued and must accompany the shipment for TRA clearance at Dar.

Tanzania uses TANCIS (Tanzania Customs Integrated System) for declarations. Your agent needs the V5C, passport, bill of lading, TIN, and the TBS RIR. The duty calculation is based on CIF value as assessed by TRA's valuation database.

There is no outright age ban, but vehicles over 10 years old attract an excise penalty, and very old vehicles are uneconomic to import once duty stacks up. Most UK importers focus on the 5–9-year window.

Import duty is 25% on most passenger vehicles. Excise is 5%–10% on vehicles under 10 years and 15%–30% on cars over 10 years (depending on engine size and age). VAT is 18%. Additional charges include Railway Development Levy (1.5%) and other administrative fees.

A typical 2018 Toyota Premio 1.8 attracts around TZS 8m–TZS 11m in destination charges. A 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado can attract TZS 18m+ depending on assessed value.

UK → Dar via the Suez Canal runs 30–37 days for RoRo and 35–42 days for container. Sailings depart Southampton or Sheerness fortnightly. Allow 7–14 days for clearance at Dar and onward delivery.

For Zambian, Malawian or DRC-bound vehicles using RIT, add 5–7 days for road haulage from Dar to the border post, plus clearance at destination.

Choose RHD vehicles only — Tanzania, like Kenya, is a right-hand-drive market and LHD imports are restricted. Verify the VIN-decoded year of manufacture, not just the UK registration year, before committing.

If your final destination is Zambia or Malawi, route via Dar with RIT bond rather than via Durban — total transit time and landed cost are usually lower.