Skip to document content Skip to main menu Skip to search

Tea Rules, 1999

Government Notice 92 of 1999

Revoked
This Government Notice was revoked on 2010-11-12 by Tea Regulations, 2010.
Tea Rules, 1999
Citation
Government Notice 92 of 1999
Primary work
Tea Industry Act
Date
31 July 2002
Language
English
Collections
Related documents
Ask AI
Ask questions and understand this document faster using AI.
Skip to document content
Tanzania
Tea Industry Act

Tea Rules, 1999

Government Notice 92 of 1999

  • Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
  • Commenced
  • [This is the version of this document at 31 July 2002.]
  • [Note: This legislation was revised and consolidated as at 31 July 2002 and 30 November 2019 by 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. All subsequent amendments have been researched and applied by Laws.Africa for TANZLII.]
  1. [Revoked on 12 November 2010 by Tea Regulations, 2010 (Government Notice 421 of 2010)]
[Section 31]

Part I – Preliminary provisions (regs 1-2)

1. Citation

These Rules may be cited as the Tea Rules.

2. Interpretation

In these Rules, unless the context requires otherwise—"Association" means an association formed and registered under the Societies Ordinance 1;1Cap. 337"Board" means the Tea Board of Tanzania established under section 3 of the Tea Act 1;1Cap. 275"Commissioner" means Commissioner of Agriculture or any officer authorized by the Board to act as an inspector in accordance with the provisions of these Rules;"green leaf tea" means leaf detached from tea plants but not dried or processed in any way;"made tea" means the leaf of the tea plant when manufactured;"manufacturing" means processing of green leaf tea into made tea;"member grower" means an individual farmer or company cultivating tea under grower registration;"minister" means the Minister responsible for Agriculture;"ministry" means the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives;"primary society" means a primary society formed and registered under the Co-operative Society Act 3;3Cap. 211"register" means register maintained under section 14 of the Tea Act 4;4Cap. 275"registered grower" means a registered tea grower for the purposes of the Tea Board Act;"tea" means the tea plant known botanically as Camellia thea thea sinensis and includes its seed;"tea blending and packing" means the process of mixing different grades and types of made tea from different factories and areas into a standard blend or blends ("blending") and then putting into packets ("packing");"tea buyer" means any person or group of persons buying green tea leaves from the growers for either sale or processing whether or not such buyer has sponsored production of that tea by providing inputs and other support services to the growers in line with the farming regulations and it also includes any person or group of persons buying tea for domestic or export market;"tea grower" means a primary co-operative society, village individual engaged in tea cultivation and registered by the Board;"tea industry" means all those persons, or companies involved in the growing, manufacturing, packing and blending of tea;"tea pest" means tea beetle (Mites trips, Aphides borers) and any other insect organism which the Minister may by notice in the Gazette declare be a pest of tea;"tea premises" means any land, buildings, factory, erection, vehicle article or receptacle whatsoever for the purpose of growing, sorting, processing, blending, transporting or in any way connected with the handling of tea or other plants or products liable to be infected by a pest or disease of tea.

Part II – Registration by Board (regs 3-6)

3. Registration of tea growers

(1)The Board shall register every tea grower as an individual or under a village primary co-operative society or association or company.
(2)Prior to registration the grower shall provide the following information to the Board:
(a)Name of individual grower or the society or association or name of the company.
(b)Planned hectares for tea growing and estimation of the requirement.
(3)No person shall sell green tea leaves in the field unless he is a registered tea grower.

4. Registrar of tea factories

The Board shall be the registrar of tea growers, premises, in Tanzania and of all buildings used or intended to be used for tea manufacturing or processing, packing and blending and the following shall have to be provided by the applicant prior to registration:
(a)Name and address of the applicant;
(b)Location and name of the factory or proposed factory;
(c)Installed capacity;
(d)The district where the factory is to be built;
(e)Approximate total value of the factory in Tanzania shillings broken into foreign cost and local cost and the financial structure;
(f)Projected sales per year whether export or local in Tanzania Shillings;
(g)Projected business plans and expansion programmes;
(h)Source of packing materials and its financing;
(i)Owners of the project and share ownership;
(j)Intended market, distribution areas and the planned market distribution system;
(k)Organization and manpower structure indicating how much force, foreign and local and the plan for phasing out the foreign personnel;
(l)Product brand name and technology to be used; and
(m)Sources of tea for processing, blending and packing.

5. Tea grower or processor to provide data

Every registered tea grower and manufacturer shall furnish to the Board information on the cultivated hectarage, tea production, purchases (in kgs.) and tax paid.

6. Registered persons to follow the rules

(1)Each registered tea grower, processor, blender or packer shall follow all rules pertaining to growing, processing, blending and marketing of tea.
(2)Any person who—
(a)fails or refuses to make a return under the provisions of the Tea Act5, upon request in writing by Board; or5Cap. 275
(b)knowingly makes or causes to be made false return in a particular manner,
commits an offence against the Act.

Part III – Purchasing procedures (reg 7)

7. Prohibition

(1)No person shall buy green leaf tea in the field for processing except under and in accordance with a licence issued by the Board.
(2)The licence for purchase of green leaf tea shall be issued upon such terms and conditions as the Board may prescribe.
(3)Any purchaser of green leaf tea shall—
(a)buy green leaf tea on a delivered factory basis at or above the price that shall be announced by the Tea Board after consultation with the Tea Board after consultation with the Tea Association of Tanzania;
(b)draw up a schedule for collection of green leaf tea and adhere to it;
(c)buy all green leaf tea that would be plucked and sent to the green leaf collection centres in the particular day and time as previously agreed upon by the parties;
(d)deduct some moneys for repayment of the debts or loans due for payment by the farmers from the farm gate price and remit the same to the respective lender, or his agent. These debts or loans would include the farmers' outstanding loans in respect of agro-inputs given by the defunct Tanzania Tea Authority;
(e)make payment to the farmers for the purchases of green leaf tea within a maximum period of one month from the date of the purchase of the tea;
(f)issue a receipt to the seller of green leaf tea immediately after the sale at the weighing centres and pay the seller as per weight so recorded at the centre and not otherwise. Any other costs that will be incurred after weighing the green leaf tea shall be borne by the buyer;
(g)assist farmers in securing inputs and sell the inputs upon such terms and conditions as the parties may agree;
(h)submit to the Board a green leaf tea report on appropriate form and any other reports as may be required by the Board from time to time;
(i)whenever possible carry out tea extension services and maintain field feeder road repairs in collaboration with the local authority or village government or other authorities;
(j)assist the small holder farmer in the procurement of tea planting materials on such terms of payment as the parties may agree.
(4)Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subrule (3) a manufacturer may, based on the prevailing world prices, negotiate with the farmer a price higher than that set by the Tea Board.

Part IV – Plant protection rules (regs 8-11)

8. Specification of tea

The Commissioner may, upon approval by a recognized tea institution in cost and Central Africa and subject to any other terms and conditions as he may impose specify tea planting materials preferred for growing in Tanzania.

9. Restriction on the planting materials

(1)No person shall—
(a)import or plant in the country any tea planting materials without the approval of the commissioner;
(b)sow tea seeds or plants in his field which have not been certified by the commissioner or an authorized officer;
(c)plant tea in any period other than between October and March of every year,
and any tea planting shall be done by applying the proper crop planting specifications.
(2)The Commissioner or the Board shall have the power at the expense of the grower to destroy the seeds imported or planted without the relevant permission.

10. Sanitary measures

(1)Any building or vehicle used for the manufacture, transportation and storage of tea shall be cleaned regularly or daily and shall be subject to inspection by the health authorities.
(2)No transport vehicles of green leaf or made tea storage facilities shall be used to transport other scented perfumed salt, fertilizer, diesel, petrol or other odorous materials.
(3)No person owning or having control of any premises shall allow any chemicals detrimental to human health be stored in such premises.

11. Restriction on tea agrochemicals

No person shall use fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, nemocides or suckercides for tea without the approval of the authorized officer.

Part V – Tea manufacturing, blending and packing (regs 12-14)

12. Licence to blend and pack tea

(1)With effect from the date of coming into operation of the Tea Act6, no person shall blend or pack tea unless he is or is deemed, under rule 13, to be the holder of a tea packing and blending licence lawfully issued to him.6Cap. 275
(2)Subrule (1) shall not apply to bulk packing done by registered manufacturers for the sole purpose of export sales or bulk packing for sales to Tanzania Tea Blenders Limited, Tanzania Tea Packers Limited or to other licensed domestic blenders or packers.
(3)Any person who contravenes the provisions of this rule commits an offence.
(4)Every tea blending and packing licence shall specify—
(a)the location or location of the tea packing factories;
(b)the location of sales if to be restricted to any particular area;
(c)whether export sales area to be allowed or not.

13. Application for licences

(1)No person shall process, blend or pack for tea for sale, whether by sun drying or otherwise, except under and in accordance with a licence issued to him by the Board.
(2)Every application for a licence under this rule shall be made to the Board in writing in the prescribed form and on such terms and conditions as the Board may prescribe.
(3)The Board may, subject to such terms and conditions as the Board thinks fit, issue a manufacturing or packing licence. Provided that where the Board refuses to issue the manufacturing or packing licence reasons for so doing shall be communicated to the applicant.
(4)Any licensee who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the conditions or terms of the licence issued to him under this rule commits an offence.
(5)Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the conditions subject to which his tea blending or packing licence was issued commits an offence and the Board may cancel the licence or vary the condition thereof, as it may think fit.
(6)Where a licence is cancelled by the Board under subrule (5), the licensee may within ninety days of such cancellation appeal in writing to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(7)Each licensee shall, beside a licence under rules 12 and 13, apply for and obtain an Industrial licence, all relevant health, safety food licenses and a Tested Product Certificate from Tanzania Bureau of Standards.

14. Blending and packing licence not to be assigned

(1)No person to whom a tea blending and packing licence has been issued shall lend, transfer or assign such licence to any other person save with the prior permission of the Board.
(2)Any person who lends, transfers or assigns any tea blending and packing licence issued to him to any other person without having first obtained the permission of the Board commits an offence.

Part VI – Tea inspectors (regs 15-17)

15. Board to appoint inspectors

(1)The Board shall have power to appoint a number of qualified persons to be tea inspectors.
(2)Any tea inspector appointed under subrule (1) shall:
(a)supervise the arrangement for the purchase and export of tea and tea products;
(b)conduct inspection of tea plants, tea factories and buildings, premises, weight and qualities of tea or tea products as may be prescribed by the Board.
(3)Any person who hinders or obstruct any person so authorised by the Board from exercising any power conferred by this rule, or who fails or refuses to give information in response to such inquiry commits an offence.

16. Powers of a tea inspector

(1)Any person owning, occupying or having control of tea premises shall comply with any directive issued by the tea inspector for the eradication, reduction or prevention or the spread of a pest of disease of tea and the inspector may by notice in writing order the immediate destruction of tea plants or other plants or products liable to be infected by pest or any disease of tea whether or not the tea is infected with such pest or disease.
(2)Where the grower or owner or occupier of tea premises fails to comply with the directive given under subrule (1) the inspector may on giving not less than fourteen days' notice in writing of his intention to do so cause any such measures to be taken by himself, his agent or contractors and for purposes of taking such measures such inspector may enter or cause his agents or contractors to enter upon tea premises as may be liable to pay all costs of such undertaking which shall be recoverable as debt due to the Board.
(3)Any person who hinders or obstructs any person so authorized by the Board from exercising any power conferred by this rule or who fails or refuses to give information in response to such inquiry commits an offence.

17. Power of Board as to tea packed and blended without licence

(1)Where any person has been found guilty of packing or blending tea without a licence the Board may, by notice in writing, require such person at his cost within such period, being not less than thirty days, as may be specified in the notice, to destroy all tea which has been so packed.
(2)Where a person to whom a notice has been issued under this rule fails within the period specified in the notice to comply with the terms it shall be lawful for the Board or authorized person in that behalf, to enter upon the land occupied by such person and to destroy at the expense of such person all tea so packed without a licence; and any such expenses shall be recoverable by the Board as a civil debt.

Part VII – Tea sales contracts (regs 18-23)

18. Maximum sales period contract

(1)Any buyer of green leaf tea may after consultation with the Board authorities, enter into sales contract with any grower for a minimum period of one year on such terms and conditions as the parties may agree upon, and no buyer should enter into a sales contract with a grower who has another contract with another buyer.
(2)Parties shall in entering into contract under subrule (1) use standard contract forms prepared by the Board or other authorised public officer.
(3)Each buyer shall after signing a contract, register each sales contract with the Board and submit the copies of the registered contacts to the designated district agricultural officer.
(4)Prior to entering into any sales contract with a grower or growers, the buyer shall have to be satisfied that the grower or growers have no outstanding debts (secured on the crop grown or to be grown) under a different sales contract unless the settlement of the outstanding debts shall be taken account of in the new contract.
(5)The parties to the sales contract shall specify clearly the crop production estimates (in hectares and volume) and corresponding inputs requirements and the prices thereof before signing of the contract and the review thereof shall be done after the end of each contract period.

19. Board to issue crop activity calender

The Board shall issue a crop activity calender for guidance indicating time for sowing the seeds, transplanting and plucking of green tea leaves.

20. Sales of tea leaves

(1)All green tea leaves sales shall be done at the buying centre on the basis of the price to be delivered to factory at the agreed time as stipulated into the contract and within ideal time to take the leaf to the factory in time to avoid the deterioration of the leaves.
(2)Whenever possible every buyer shall pay the grower for green tea purchased at such a bank and within such period as specified in the contract and in default thereof the buyer shall pay the grower the prevailing commercial bank interest on purchase price calculated from the due date to the actual date of payment.

21. Monthly data reports

Every buyer shall every month make a report to the district regional agricultural officers and the Board of the planted acreage feeding him with leaf, volume or tonnage of crop purchased and average price thereof, availability of inputs (or plans) and distribution in accordance with the relevant terms of the farming contracts.

22. Agrochemicals and planting materials

(1)No grower shall use tea agrochemicals, fertilizer, tea clones or seeds and other materials related to tea growing which have not been recommended by the Board.
(2)Each grower shall—
(a)in the course of farming tea use the proper quantities of inputs as recommended by tea research institutions;
(b)plant only tea clones and seed varieties certified by the Board in collaboration with the appropriate tea research authorities in Tanzania.

23. Tree planting

Each tea manufacturer in collaboration with the tea grower shall be encouraged to plant enough appropriate tree species of fuelwood that shall yield enough plants to support the tea processing units for fuelwood and environmental conservation.

Part VIII – Marketing procedures (regs 24-31)

24. Buyers to obtain tea buying permit

(1)Any registered manufacturer who wishes to buy green leaf tea shall obtain a buying permit from the districts or local authority.
(2)The manufacturer who has obtained a permit under subrule (1) shall apply and secure a buying licence from the Board prior to buying any green leaf tea.
(3)Tea growers shall conduct selling negotiations in certified sheds built specifically for green leaf tea sale or operations with whose surroundings shall be kept to standard sanitary conditions.
(4)Registered manufactures shall produce monthly reports to the Board showing purchases and deliveries (and producer prices offered) of green leaf tea to the processing factory.
(5)A registered manufacturer and every grower shall be represented during the tea weighment which shall be conducted or witnessed by the two parties concerned.
(6)No person shall sell green leaf tea in the field unless he is a registered tea grower and has personally grown tea in his farm and selling of green leaf tea in the field by a middleman not being a tea grower himself is an offence.
(7)Only tea leaves of the required standard of either two or three leaves and a bud shall be plucked for sale and any buyer may refuse to buy any substandard green leaf tea.

25. Growers to negotiate prices for crops

Tea growers shall establish in their own areas grower's associations or primary co-operative society which will negotiate with the buyers the sale prices of the green leaf tea and the prices so negotiated will apply to the respective tea growing area only.

26. Growers payment according to contract

Payment of growers proceeds shall be made according to a written contract between the growers and the payment shall be made at least at the end of each month. Arrangements to pay on shorter periods shall be encouraged.

27. Green leaf tea to be processed locally

All green leaf tea produced in Tanzania shall be processed locally.

28. Domestic and export market procedures

(1)Any registered manufacturer blender or packer may, subject to the acquisition of an export permit from the Board issued upon such terms and conditions as the Board may prescribe, export or sell made tea.
(2)Domestic tea sales shall be made by registered manufacturers by private treaty and only to licensed tea blenders and tea packers.

29. Board to be final arbitrator

The Board shall, in issues relating to quality in respect of domestic and export market, be the supervisor and final arbitrator.

30. Sales records to be kept

(1)The Board shall maintain a register of processed tea sold for the domestic and export market.
(2)Every licensed manufacturer shall make a monthly return to the Board of domestic and export sales.
(3)Every licensed blender and packer shall make a monthly return to the Board of tea purchases and tea sales.

31. Board to issue or revoke licence

The Board shall on prescribed terms and conditions issue licences to tea farmers, manufacturers, blenders packers and tea importers in the country, provided always that the Board may revoke such licences issued by it for good cause.

Part IX – Levy, cesses and other funds (reg 32)

32. Imposition of cess

(1)Every tea manufacturer, blender or packer and importer shall pay cess or levy as the case may be at such rate as the Minister may on the recommendation of the Tea Board impose by notice in the Gazette.
(2)Every tea manufacturer shall pay research cess to the Tea Research Institute of Tanzania at such rate as the Minister may on the recommendation of the Tea Board impose by notice in the Gazette.
(3)The Minister may, on recommendation of the Tea Board approve by notice in the Gazette an annual cess on every tea grower in respect of each acre or hectare or part thereof.

Part X – Miscellaneous provisions (regs 33-35)

33. Delegation of functions

The Board may delegate some of its functions to the Agency upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the parties.

34. Appeals

Any person who has been aggrieved by the decision of the Board pursuant to provisions of any appeal to of these Rules may appeal to the Minister.

35. Penalty

Any person who contravenes any of these Rules where no punishment has been specified commits an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment and in addition to such a fine or imprisonment, the Board may exercise its powers to revoke or suspend the licence formerly issued by it.

History of this document

12 November 2010
31 July 2002 this version
Consolidation
▲ To the top