Vehicle shipping · May 24, 2026 · 8 min read

How to Ship a Car from Canada to Senegal (Dakar) — 2026 Guide

Real costs from Montreal to Port of Dakar, Senegal's hard 3-year age limit on personal-use vehicles (the biggest gotcha), customs duty math including COSEC royalty, and the documentation that gets your cargo through DPW without storage fees.

Quick answer — you can ship a typical sedan from Oakville to Dakar via shared container or RoRo — request a quote for current freight pricing. Transit is 18–28 days. Senegal allows personal-use vehicles ≤3 years old (5 years for commercial).

⚠ Hard rule: Personal-use vehicles must be 3 years old or less from original registration date (4 years from manufacture year). A 2022 model is the oldest you can ship for personal use through 2026. Commercial vehicles get 5 years (60 months from registration). No exceptions.

What you'll pay

Vehicle type	Method
Sedan (Camry, Accord, Civic)	RoRo
Sedan	Shared container
SUV (RAV4, CR-V, Highlander)	RoRo
SUV	Shared container
Luxury SUV	Sole 20ft
Two cars together	40ft container

Request a quote for current freight pricing.

Senegal customs duty & taxes

Senegal's import tax stack on used vehicles:

Import duty: 15% of CIF
Statistical tax: 1% of CIF
Community levy (ECOWAS + PCS): 0.5% of CIF
COSEC royalty (sea imports only): 0.4% of CIF
TVA (VAT): 18% on (CIF + duty + above levies)

How it works on a used SUV (CIF = vehicle value + freight):

Import duty + statistical + community + COSEC come to about 16.9% of CIF
TVA of 18% is then applied to CIF plus those levies
Combined, Senegal-side taxes land around 38% of CIF

Required paperwork

Canada side: vehicle title, bill of sale, CBSA B13A export declaration, government ID, pre-shipment photos. We file the B13A for you.

Senegal side: Original Bill of Lading, commercial invoice, certificate of origin, pre-shipment inspection certificate from accredited body (BIVAC/SGS/Cotecna), consignee's Senegalese ID or residence permit.

4 common mistakes

1. Shipping a 4+ year-old personal vehicle

Senegal's age limit is strict and enforced. A 2021 model arriving in 2026 will be refused for personal-use import — you'll either pay return freight or have to declare it as commercial (more expensive and complex).

2. Skipping pre-shipment inspection

Senegal requires a Certificate of Conformity issued by an accredited inspection body (BIVAC, SGS, or Cotecna) at the country of origin BEFORE the vessel sails. We coordinate this at our Oakville warehouse.

3. Forgetting French documentation

Senegal is francophone. While shipping documents in English are accepted, customs prefers French-translated invoices and titles. Improves clearance speed by 1-2 days.

4. Not budgeting for taxes correctly

~38% combined taxes on CIF is the realistic landed-cost figure for a used SUV. Plan ahead — Senegal customs uses their own reference values, not your invoice.

Ready to ship to Senegal?

We ship to Port of Dakar regularly. Use our quote form and we'll come back with a firm price plus a clear estimate of Senegal-side duty and taxes.

Get a Vehicle Quote →

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