All maritime shipments with Lomé as the final destination must be covered by a mandatory Cargo Tracking Note (CTN). This regulation is strictly enforced by the Togolese authorities to ensure seamless customs entry and port security.
Compliance Checklist
Mandatory Status: Required for all cargo entering Togo, including commercial, personal, and diplomatic shipments.
Timing: Shippers and forwarders must initiate the procedure to ensure the certificate is validated prior to the vessel's arrival at the Port of Lomé.
Special Transit Rule: Cargo transiting through Togo to landlocked neighbors (such as Burkina Faso, Niger, or Mali) typically requires both a Togolese transit certificate and the ECTN of the final destination country.
Risk: Failure to follow the official procedure results in severe administrative penalties, doubling of certificate costs, and significant clearance difficulties at the destination.
The Pelship Promise: In a landscape of shifting rules, we serve as your Knowledge Hub. We verify every change at the source, ensuring that your compliance is handled with care and proper guidance.
Protect your supply chain and prevent costly delays by submitting your high-resolution PDF documents (under 2MB per file) to the Pelship Team today for expert drafting and compliance validation.
Documents required:
- Bill of Lading (OBL for validation)
- Commercial invoice / Freight invoice
- Export Customs Declaration
Regulations
- Once document is confirmed and pre-validated, any correction (except vessel’s name, shipped on board date, bill of lading date, BL issued on, BL issued at, final destination, remarks and voyage number) will be charged Euro 50,- on top of possible extra tariff for additional or decrease of units/weight/volume
- OBL to be submitted within 5 working days after pre-validation is requested to avoid cancellation of e-CTN
- ECTN should be confirmed and validated within 11 working days after pre-validation, if not ECTN will be cancelled, and credits will be lost.