Clearing a Tokunbo Car in Cotonou: Steps and Real Costs

Many used cars sold in Benin come in through the Port Autonome de Cotonou, shipped from the USA, Canada and Europe. If you plan to buy one abroad and clear it yourself, or you want to check what a seller paid, this guide walks you from the ship to Benin plates. It gives costs as ranges, because nobody outside customs can promise you an exact figure.

This guide is for a car that will be registered and used in Benin. That is the legal, local market. If you want the car in Nigeria, the sea route near the end shows how.

• Customs does not use your invoice. It values the car with its own reference value by make, model and year (the "Argus"). A cheap auction price does not mean cheap duty.

• Engine size (puissance fiscale). Transitaires report that from 13 CV fiscaux, a large-engine tax adds about 8 points to the bill. V6 SUVs like the Highlander usually fall here. Ask your transitaire before you bid.

• Age and condition. Customs treats a car as "new" only if it is 12 months old or less and has 6,000 km or less. Everything else is used. Very old cars pay a minimum, because customs applies a floor value (about 1.5 million F CFA for a passenger car, according to one Cotonou transitaire).

1. Prepare the papers before the ship arrives. Send your transitaire the bill of lading (BL), the original title or foreign registration, the purchase invoice and your ID (an IFU for a company). Missing papers are the main cause of delay and storage fees.

2. The car lands at Cotonou. It arrives by RoRo ship or in a container. It can go straight to a sale yard (parc de vente), which a 2022 customs rule treats as a customs warehouse and clearance area, or wait for clearance.

3. The transitaire files the customs declaration. Customs sets the value, then applies the duties and taxes (next section). You pay the assessed amount and receive the customs receipt (quittance).

4. You get the bon à enlever (BAE). This is the release order. With a complete file, one Cotonou transitaire puts the whole port stage at 3 to 7 working days.

5. Plates and carte grise. The car is registered in Benin and gets Benin plates. Transitaires usually include this in their lump sum (see below).

6. Insurance and the visite technique. You need third-party insurance before driving, and a technical inspection (visite technique), booked online, with the annual vehicle tax (TVM). The road-safety centre (CNSR) reminded drivers in October 2026 that you must attend within 30 days of booking.

Benin Customs' own brochure (October 2020) shows how a passenger car from outside the region is taxed. On the customs value, you pay customs duty of 20%, four small levies (regional and urban) and a 1% statistical fee (3% together), then 18% VAT on the value plus those items. A large-engine car adds a 10% tax on the same base. Then come two flat fees: 50,000 F and 10,000 F.

• Official formula, normal car: about 45% of the customs value + 60,000 F.

• Official formula, large engine: about 57% of the customs value + 60,000 F.

• Typical transitaire quote: about 32% of the CIF value under 13 CV and 40% from 13 CV, plus about 98,600 F of fixed charges per declaration.

Why the gap? The transitaire says customs applies an abatement for used cars before stacking the taxes. The exact abatement is not published, and the 2020 brochure is the latest official document we found. So treat both figures as the low and high ends of an estimate. The final assessment by customs is what counts.

On top of duty, you pay handling, yard exit, formalities, plates, carte grise and the transitaire's fee. Quotes we found run from about 550,000 F (a Cotonou transitaire's lump sum, plates and carte grise included) to US$1,500–2,500 (a US shipper's "local charges in Cotonou", about 877,000 to 1,462,000 F). Get the quote in writing and ask what it includes.

Shipping is separate. A US shipper lists RoRo from the US East Coast to Cotonou from US$1,320 per car. The same transitaire uses flat estimates of about 300,000 F from Europe and 600,000 F from the USA or Canada.

These use the CIF values from the transitaire's own examples and the same maths as the Beninfo247 car cost calculator. Low = transitaire rate and the 550,000 F lump sum. High = official formula and the US$2,500 local charges.

• Toyota Corolla 2015 from the USA, CIF about 4,900,000 F: duty and taxes 1,666,600 F (transitaire rate) to 2,271,860 F (official formula). Total landed in Cotonou, car included: about 7.1 to 8.6 million F CFA.

• Toyota Highlander 2020, large engine, CIF about 25,000,000 F: duty and taxes 10,098,600 F to 14,420,000 F. Total landed: about 35.6 to 40.9 million F CFA.

Not included: insurance, the visite technique and TVM, yard storage, and any repairs. We left these out because we found no published tariff we could check. Ask the insurer and the CNSR for the current amounts.

For comparison, cars already in Cotonou are advertised much lower when they are older: a 2004 Corolla at 2.2 million F and a 2011 Camry at 2.8 million F on CoinAfrique in October 2026. Importing a recent car is a mid-to-upper budget move. See our list of cheap cars in Cotonou if your budget is tighter.

• Sale yards have a clock. Under a May 2022 customs circular, a car can stay in a yard for at most one year: one month waiting for clearance, four months of consignment sale (renewable once), then three months to clear it. Late clearance costs a flat 300,000 F fine, and customs can auction the car.

• Cars arriving by land (customs note signed 20 August 2026). The note, reported by Benin Web TV, says used cars coming in through land borders are no longer cleared at the border. They travel under transit to a regional office, are checked against a recent reference Argus, and pay duty there. Buying a car "already in Togo" no longer skips the check.

• Flood and salvage cars. Cars sold at US auctions with a "flood" or "salvage" title have ended up in West Africa. Run a VIN history check (Carfax, AutoCheck or NMVTIS) as your first step.

• Clearing quotes. Customs taxes the car on its own reference value, not your invoice. Choose a quote that sits inside the ranges above; one far below can turn into a reassessment and a penalty.

• Matching papers. Before paying a seller, ask to see the customs receipt (quittance), the BAE and the original title, and check that the chassis number on each one matches the car.

• Storage fees. Fees start when the free period at the port ends. Have the papers ready before the ship docks.

The route into Nigeria is by sea: ship the car to a Nigerian port and clear it there with full Nigerian duty. Nigeria has allowed vehicle imports through its seaports only since 1 January 2017, for new and used cars, and in September 2026 the Customs Comptroller-General said that could change one day but gave no date. Duty paid in Cotonou is Benin duty, so Nigerian clearance is a separate step at the Nigerian port. Our guide to shipping a car from Cotonou to Lagos walks you through it, and our import guide has the costs.

How long does clearing take in Cotonou? Usually 3 to 7 working days with a complete file, according to a Cotonou transitaire. Disputes over value or missing papers add days and storage fees.

Can I clear the car myself? The declaration is filed by a licensed customs agent (transitaire). Your job is to send complete papers early and get a written quote.

Will customs accept my auction invoice? Customs starts from its own reference value for the make, model and year, so budget from that value.

How much are the carte grise, insurance and visite technique? We could not find published amounts we could verify, so we leave the figure out. Many transitaires include plates and the carte grise in their lump sum. Ask.

Want an exact quote? Message Beninfo247 on WhatsApp with the car, the year and where it is now, and we'll put you in touch.