This Act was repealed on 2010-06-18 by Electronic and Postal Communications Act, 2010.
Tanzania
Tanzania Communications Act
Chapter 302
- Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
- Commenced on 1 January 1992
- [This is the version of this document at 31 July 2002.]
- [Note: This legislation has been thoroughly revised and consolidated under the supervision of the Attorney General's Office, in compliance with the Laws Revision Act No. 7 of 1994, the Revised Laws and Annual Revision Act (Chapter 356 (R.L.)), and the Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act No. 30 of 1972. This version is up-to-date as at 31st July 2002.]
- [Repealed by Electronic and Postal Communications Act, 2010 (Act 3 of 2010) on 18 June 2010]
Part I – Preliminary provisions (ss. 1-2)
1. Short title and application
2. Interpretation
Part II – Establishment, functions and powers of the Tanzania Communications Commission (ss. 3-8)
3. Establishment of the Commission
4. Constitution of the Commission
5. Functions and duties of the Commission
6. Obligations of the Commission
7. Role of Minister
8. The Secretariat
Part III – Power to license and regulate postal services and telecommunication systems (ss. 9-23)
9. Power to issue licence and regulate telecommunication systems
10. Commission to manage and assign the national radio frequency spectrum
11. Attorney-General to be party to the suit
12. Offences
13. Deposit before conviction
14. Licence to be issued unconditionally or subject to conditions
15. Designation of public telecommunication licensee
16. Power to issue licence and to regulate provision of postal services
17. Licences to be issued unconditionally or subject to conditions
18. Designation of postal public licensee
19. Application and grant of licence
20. Application for licence to be in writing
21. Discretion to grant or refuse licence
22. Modifications of licence conditions
23. Suspension or cancellation of licence
Part IV – Approval of telecommunication equipment to be connected to public network (ss. 24-25)
24. Commission to approve equipment
25. Power to make regulations
Part V – Miscellaneous and general power (ss. 26-31)
26. Power to enter upon and to survey land
27. Power to erect, maintain telephone lines on any property
28. Removal of telephone lines erected on any property
29. Power to enter and to prevent accidents
30. Powers in relation to electricity undertakers
31. Structures likely to interfere with telecommunications services
Part VI – Postage stamps and postal charges (ss. 32-44)
32. Provision of postage stamps
33. Postage stamps to be used for prepayment and power to make rules
34. Exemption from postal charges
35. Power to make rules as to transmission by post of postal articles
36. Transmission by post of anything injurious, prohibited
37. Transmission by post of anything indecent, prohibited
No person shall send by post—38. Commission to make rules dealing with prohibited articles
The Commission may make such rules as the Commission shall think fit for preventing the sending and delivery of articles prohibited by section 36 or 37 and for detaining, disposing of, or destroying any such postal article sent or tendered for transmission by post.[s. 35]39. Obligation of licensee to inform the Commission
40. Disposal of postal articles detained under this Act
41. Application of sections 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40
Sections 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 shall apply to any article or thing sent from outside the United Republic in like manner as to any article or thing sent from within the United Republic.[s. 38]42. Power to make rules as to disposal of undelivered postal articles
43. Power to provide for postal financial services and to make rules thereon
44. Special powers in emergency or in the national or public interest
Part VII – Financial provisions (ss. 45-47)
45. Funds and resources of the Commission
The funds and resources of the Commission shall consist of such sums as may be—46. Budget of Commission
47. Accounts and audit
Part VIII – Offences and penalties in relation to postal services (ss. 48-64)
48. Penalty for contravention of sections 17 and 18
Any person who—49. Penalty for contravention of sections 36 and 37
Any person who, in contravention of section 36 or 37, sends or tenders or makes over in order to be sent by post any postal article or other thing commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both.[s. 46]50. Penalty for defiling or injuring letter boxes
Any person who places in or against any letter box provided by the licensee for the reception of postal articles any fire, match or light, or any explosive, dangerous, filthy, noxious, or deleterious substance or any fluid, or commits a nuisance in or against any such letter box, or does anything likely to injure any such letter box or its appurtenances or contents, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both.[s. 47]51. Penalty for affixing without authority anything to, or disfiguring, a post office
Any person who without due authority affixes any placard, advertisement, notice, list, document, board or other thing in or on, or paints, tars, or in any way disfigures, any post office, commits an offence and shall, on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings.[s. 48]52. Penalty for unlawfully detaining mails or opening mail bags
Any person who, except under the authority of this Act or in obedience to the order in writing of the Minister or the Commission's officer or the direction of a competent Court, detains the mail or any postal article in the course of transmission by post or on any pretence opens a mail bag in course of transmission by post commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings.[s. 49]53. Penalty for wilfully retaining postal articles or mail bags
Any person who fraudulently retains or unlawfully secretes or makes away with or keeps or detains or when required by an authorised officer neglects or refuses to deliver up any postal article in the course of transmission by post which ought to have been delivered to any other person, or a mail bag containing a postal article, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to both.[s. 50]54. Penalty for unlawfully diverting letters
Any person who, wilfully and maliciously with intent to injure any other person, either opens or causes to be opened any letter which ought to have been delivered, or does any act whereby the due delivery of a letter to any person is prevented or impeded, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand shillings or to both.[s. 51]55. Penalty for unlawfully disclosing contents of postal articles
Any person who reveals, discloses or in any way makes known the contents of any postal article opened under the authority of this Act, except so far as may be necessary for the purpose of returning the same or so far as may be authorised by the commission in writing, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings or to both.[s. 52]56. Penalty for making fictitious stamps
57. Prohibition of false notice as to reception of letters
Any person who, without authority from the Commission, places or maintains in or on any house, wall, door, window, box, pillar, or other place, belonging to him or under his control, any of the following words, letters, or marks—58. Offences by officers, employee or agent of a public postal licensee
Any officer, employee or agent of a public postal licensee who—59. Penalty for breach of licence
Any licensee who without lawful excuse fails to comply with any term or condition expressed in the license commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings for every breach.[s. 56]60. Offences by body corporate
Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, any person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or was purporting to act in such capacity shall, as well as such body corporate, be deemed to have committed that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised, having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.[s. 57]61. General penalty
Any person who contravenes any provision of this Act or any rules made thereunder commits an offence and, if no penalty is expressly provided shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings.[s. 58]62. Penalty for abetting, or attempting to commit offences
Any person who abets the commission of any offence punishable under this Act, or attempts to commit any offence so punishable, shall, on conviction, be liable to the penalty provided for that offence.[s. 59]63. Resident Magistrate's Court to have full jurisdiction
Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, the Court of Resident Magistrate may try any offence under this Act or any rules made under it and may impose the full penalty for such offence.[s. 60]64. Power of Director-General to compound certain offences
Where any person admits that he has committed an offence against this Act or any rules made under it, the punishment of which is a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings the Director-General may compound such offence by collecting from that person such sum of money as the Director-General may see fit, not exceeding fifty per centum of the maximum amount of fine to which that person would have been liable on conviction, and no person having made such payment shall be thereafter prosecuted in relation to the offence so compounded.Part IX – Offences and penalties in relation to telecommunication services (ss. 65-84)
65. Unlawful operation of telecommunication system
66. Prohibitions in respect of radiocommunication and telecommunication equipment
67. Penalty for unlicensed radio station
68. Exemption from sections 65, 66 and 67
Subject to such conditions as the Commission may impose, sections 65, 66 and 67 shall not apply to any person who has been issued with a licence for the installation or working of any telecommunication equipment under the provisions of any written law in force in any country which is a party to a treaty or any other arrangement to which the United Republic is a party pursuant to which licences issued under the written laws in force in each country for the installation or working of any telecommunication equipment are recognised as having force in the other country.[s. 65]69. Powers of search and seizure
70. Using unlawful telecommunication system or service
Any person who knowingly or having reason to believe that a telecommunication system or service has been established, installed, maintained, operated or provided in contravention of this Act, whether or not such system or service is connected to or provided through a public telecommunication licensee's installation or plant, uses the system or service for communication or for performing any service incidental thereto or delivers any message for transmission by the system or service or accepts delivery of any message sent shall be guilty of an offence.[s. 67]71. Obstruction of public telecommunication or postal licensees
72. Intentional damage to installation or plant used for telecommunications
Any person who, with intent to—73. Offences by officer, employee or agent of public telecommunication licensees
74. Fraudulent use of telecommunication system
Any person who dishonestly uses or permits another person to use any telecommunication service provided by a public telecommunication licensee with intent to avoid payment of any charge applicable to the provision of that service commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.[s. 71]75. Prohibition of unauthorised international call back communication
76. Sending false message
Any person who transmits or causes to be transmitted a message which he knows to be false or fabricated commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable—77. Fraudulent retention of messages
Any person who fraudulently retains or wilfully secretes, makes away with or detains a message or record of a message which ought to have been delivered to some other person or being required by a public telecommunication licensee to deliver up any such message or record thereof neglects or refuses to do so commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.[s. 73]78. Protection of installation or plant used by public telecommunication or postal licensee
79. Prohibition of false notice relating to public telecommunication installation or plant
Any person who, without the permission of a public telecommunication licensee, places or maintains in or on any house or place belonging to him or under this control, any word, letter or mark which signifies or implies or may reasonably lead the public to believe that the house or place is part of a public telecommunication licensee's installation or plant, commits an offence.[s. 75]80. Charging for use of services provided by public telecommunication and postal licensees
81. Compensation for damage to public telecommunication or postal licensee's installation or plant
82. Compensation for damage caused to public telecommunication or postal installation or plant
83. Penalty for removing any mark denoting used device for telephone purposes
84. Failure to disconnect equipment not approved under section 24
Where—History of this document
18 June 2010
Repealed by
Electronic and Postal Communications Act, 2010
31 July 2002 this version
Consolidation
01 January 1992
Commenced
Cited documents 6
Act 6
1. | Companies Act | 624 citations |
2. | Government Proceedings Act | 462 citations |
3. | Tanzania Audit Corporation Act | 50 citations |
4. | Broadcasting Services Act | 8 citations |
5. | Tanzania Posts Corporation Act | 7 citations |
6. | Tanzania Telecommunications Company Incorporation Act | 3 citations |
Documents citing this one 20
Government Notice 10
Act 5
1. | Wildlife Conservation Act | 229 citations |
2. | Broadcasting Services Act | 8 citations |
3. | Tanzania Posts Corporation Act | 7 citations |
4. | Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications (Vesting of Assets and Liabilities) Act | 4 citations |
5. | Tanzania Telecommunications Company Incorporation Act | 3 citations |
Judgment 3
Journal 1
1. | The Tanzania Lawyer, Vol. 1, 2015, Number 2 |
Law Reform Report 1
1. | Legal Framework of the Tourism Industry |