Demurrage and Storage at Dar es Salaam: Free Time Ends, Then Two Issuers
Who invoices you when a container sits too long at Dar es Salaam? Usually two issuers, not one. Once free time in the terminal tariff and the bill of lading ends, storage is a terminal charge and detention / demurrage is a shipping-line charge. Neither is TRA customs duty. Neither is a Tanzania Ports Authority marine due on the TPA tariff. Confirm the live terminal circular (including TICTS and any successor operator) and the line’s tariff, and read TPA’s published charges on tpa.go.tz as a third family. This page reprints no USD-per-day figure.
This page is the dwell-cost split file for Dar es Salaam: free time, then terminal storage, then line detention. It is not the TPA marine-dues orientation, not a TANCIS tutorial, and not a freight-forwarding licence note.
- TPA published charges: budget the live tariff
- TANCIS: what the system files
- Clearing restrictions: who may clear
As at 10 September 2026. Terminal names, free-time days and USD-per-day steps move by circular. Confirm the operator and the line the week the vessel berths. A 2019 PDF is how budgets blow.
Three invoices people add into one “port charge”
| Family | Issuer | What starts the clock |
|---|---|---|
| Marine / TPA dues as published | Tanzania Ports Authority | The live TPA tariff. See the sibling page |
| Terminal storage after free time | The container terminal operator | The terminal circular’s free-time clock, not your SPA |
| Line demurrage / detention | The shipping line / NVOCC | The bill of lading and the line tariff |
| Customs warehouse / TRA | TRA where goods sit under customs control beyond the live rule | Not the terminal’s free time, and not automatically |
Language is sloppy in the trade. Some lines call container-outside-the-port “detention” and inside-the-terminal overtime “demurrage.” Some reverse it. Read the tariff in front of you. Do not argue etymology at the gate. What matters is which legal person is invoicing, and which clock they published.
What actually burns free time
Late documents, a TIN that does not match the consignee, a PVoC certificate that has not landed, a query on TANCIS, and a truck that is not booked. The terminal clock does not care that “the bank is still onboarding.” Free time is not paused by a consultant email. If the live circular names a weekend or holiday rule, print it: do not assume Saturdays are free.
Arithmetic, labelled as orientation not a quote: if free time is n days and storage is a stepped USD-per-day thereafter, a four-day document delay is not “a bit of storage.” It is n consumed plus four days of the step the circular names. Confirm n and the step on the circular in force the week of berth. This page will not freeze either number.
Sequence that actually protects the clock
- Name the terminal and the line before the vessel sails, not after it berths.
- Print the terminal circular and the line tariff. Put both in the file.
- Pre-clear on TANCIS with matching consignee identity. Queries are dwell.
- Have trucks and a licensed clearing agent ready for the free-time window.
- Do not store “cheaply” in the terminal because the go-down is not rented yet. Terminal storage is rarely the cheap option once free time ends.
- Dispute invoices against the circular you printed, not against a WhatsApp rate.
Worked path: the importer who budgeted only TPA
A first-time importer budgets the TPA tariff page and a freight quote. The container sits nine days while TIN and PVoC catch up. The terminal invoices storage. The line invoices detention. Neither amount was in the TPA PDF. The sibling TPA page was never the whole cost. Print all three families before you bid the Incoterm.
A different stall: a forwarder rolls line detention into “agency.” Ask for the line invoice. If the line billed the forwarder, you still want the underlying tariff. Opacity is a cost.
Incoterms do not rewrite the terminal circular
CIF, CFR and FOB allocate commercial risk between seller and buyer. They do not bind the terminal. If free time runs against the consignee named on the bill of lading, that person is on the clock even if the SPA said “seller handles port.” Write the Incoterm and the who-pays-storage clause so they match the bill of lading. A mismatch is how two invoices issue and both get paid in panic.
Weekends, vessel bunching and the clock you cannot talk down
Dar bunches. When several vessels land together, trucks and scanners queue. Free time still runs unless the circular you printed grants an exception. Budget slack, not a speech at the gate. If you need extra days, ask the terminal in writing before free time ends. A request after the clock has expired is a storage invoice with a cover email.
Sources & regulators
Verify before filing: Free-time days and USD-per-day steps sit on terminal circulars and line tariffs that change. Confirm the week of berth. This page reprints no rate.
- Tanzania Ports Authority: Published port charges. Not terminal storage, not line detention. Accessed 2026-09-10.
- TRA / TANCIS: Customs declaration. Queries consume free time. Accessed 2026-09-10.
- TBS / PVoC path: Conformity documents that, if late, burn free time. Accessed 2026-09-10.
Frequently asked questions
Is demurrage a TPA charge?
Usually not. TPA marine dues are a different family. Storage is terminal; detention is often the line.
Will you quote USD per day?
No. Print the circular in force the week of berth.
Does a TANCIS query pause free time?
Not on this page’s authority. Treat queries as dwell unless the circular says otherwise.
Who should I dispute?
The issuer on the invoice, against the tariff you printed.
Fees?
Issuer tariffs. Zatra’s fee only on /pricing/.
Sources & regulators
Verify before filing: Fees, forms and lists change by Gazette and portal revision. Confirm the live mandate-holder. Law-firm alerts are discovery only.
- Tanzania Ports Authority: port instruments. Terminal circulars sit with the operator. Confirm the week of gate-in. Accessed 2026-09-10.
- TRA: customs tax, not storage. Accessed 2026-09-10.
Disclaimer
This article is informational orientation. It is not legal, tax or investment advice and not a government decision. Tanzanian instruments move by Act, Government Notice, Finance Act and portal revision. If a sentence here disagrees with the live mandate-holder, the mandate-holder wins. This page publishes no penalty figure for GN No. 198 of 2025 or GN No. 487A of 2025. Zatra Consultants Limited does not issue licences, permits, tax clearances or approvals, and gives no assurance of any regulatory or banking outcome. Professional fees are published only on /pricing/.