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Imports Control Act

Chapter 276

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Imports Control Act
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Chapter 276
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Tanzania

Imports Control Act

Chapter 276

  • Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
  • Commenced on 29 October 1951
  • [This is the version of this document as it was from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.]
  • [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. [Amended by Finance Act, 2024 (Act 6 of 2024) on 1 July 2024]
[Ords. Nos. 33 of 1950; 10 of 1951; 39 of 1956; 51 of 1958; G.N. No. 259 of 1971; Acts Nos. 5 of 1972; 10 of 1973]An Act to make provision for the control of imports and other related matters.

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Imports Control Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression—"Controller" means the person appointed by the President to be the Imports Controller under section 3 of this Act and includes his duly authorised representative;"Defence Regulations" means the Defence (Import and Export Control) Regulations, 1943, as amended from time to time;"goods" includes all kinds of movable or personal property, including animals;"import" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means to bring goods or cause goods to be brought into or within Tanzania by sea, air or land;"import licence" means an import licence issued or deemed to have been issued under the provisions of section 7 of this Act;"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Finance;"open general licence" means an open general licence issued or deemed to have been issued under the provisions of section 5;"sales-controlled goods" means any goods declared to be sales-controlled goods under section 18(1) of this Act.

3. Appointment of Imports Controller and Assistant Controllers

(1)The Minister may appoint an Imports Controller, and the Imports Controller may appoint Assistant Imports Controllers for the purposes of this Act.
(2)The Controller may delegate to any Assistant Imports Controller all or any of his powers, duties and functions under this Act either generally or in any area of Tanzania during any times or for any purposes which the Controller may direct, and may at any time revoke or vary such delegation:Provided that no delegation shall be deemed to divest the Controller of all or any of his powers, duties or functions, and he may continue to exercise the powers, duties or functions, notwithstanding the delegation.

4. Prohibition of importation of goods except under import licence

Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be an offence against this Act for any person to import any goods, or to do any act with intent that any goods are imported, unless he is in possession of a valid licence (hereinafter referred to as an import licence) issued or deemed to have been issued by the Controller under the provisions of section 7 authorising the importation of the goods:Provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply if the importation of the goods has been authorised by an open general licence issued or deemed to have been issued by the Controller under the provisions of section 5.

5. Open general licence

(1)The Controller may from time to time authorise the importation of any class of goods by the issue of an open general licence which shall be published in the Gazette and have effect from the date of the publication. An open general licence shall be subject to conditions, if any, as the Controller may in his discretion impose.
(2)Any open general licence lawfully issued under the provisions of the Defence Regulations and in force immediately prior to the commencement of this Act shall, notwithstanding the expiry or revocation of the said Defence Regulations, for the period for which it is expressed to be in force, unless previously cancelled under section 10, be deemed to be an open general licence issued by the Controller under the provisions of this section.

6. Application for import licence

An application for an import licence shall be in the form and shall contain the particulars which the Controller may direct.

7. Issue of import licence

(1)Subject to the provisions of section 10, the Controller upon receipt of an application for the issue of an import licence may in his discretion—
(a)refuse to issue an import licence;
(b)issue an import licence for any period and subject to conditions, if any, which may be specified by the Controller in the import licence, and, without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions, the Controller may impose all or any of the conditions following, namely, that any goods thereby authorised to be imported—
(i)shall not exceed the value specified in the import licence;
(ii)shall originate in any country or countries which may be specified in the import licence;
(iii)shall enter Tanzania on direct consignment from any country or countries specified in the import licence; or
(iv)shall not become the property of any person having an interest in the said goods contrary to any law.
(2)An import licence shall be in the form which the Controller may direct.
(3)An import licence lawfully issued under the provisions of the Defence Regulations and in force immediately prior to the commencement of this Act shall, notwithstanding the expiry or revocation of the said Defence Regulations, but subject to the provisions of section 16, for the period for which it is expressed to be in force, unless previously cancelled under section 10, be deemed to be an import licence issued by the Controller under the provisions of this section.
(4)For the avoidance of doubts it is hereby declared that nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the Controller from issuing a valid import licence in respect of any goods at any time after their shipment and before clearance through customs.

8. Validity of licence

Subject to the provisions of section 16, an import licence or an open general licence shall be valid for the period which the Controller may specify in the licence, and after the expiry of that period shall be null and void:Provided that on application made within the period for which an import licence is valid the Controller may from time to time extend that period by endorsement of the import licence.

9. Extension of licence in particular cases

Subject to the provisions of section 16, the Controller shall not refuse to extend the period of validity of an import licence under the provisions of section 8 for a period not exceeding three months if, before the licence would otherwise expire, the holder of the licence satisfies the Controller—
(a)that a firm order was placed for the goods specified in the licence at least thirty days before the date of the expiry; or
(b)where the order was placed within such thirty days as aforesaid, that the goods have already been shipped to Tanzania.

10. Cancellation of licence

The Controller may at any time in his absolute discretion cancel any open general licence or any import licence and shall cancel that licence in respect of which or the obtaining of which an offence against this Act has been committed:Provided that the Controller shall not, save where section 16 applies, refuse to issue a new import licence authorising the importation within three months of any goods the importation of which had been authorised by an import licence or open general licence so cancelled for any reason other than an offence under this Act, in any case where the prospective importer of the goods applies for a new licence within one month of the cancellation of the import licence or, as the case may be, open general licence, and satisfies the Controller—
(a)that a firm order was placed for the goods at least thirty days before the date of such cancellation; or
(b)where the order was placed within thirty days as aforesaid, that the goods have already been shipped to Mainland Tanzania.

11. Production of import licence

(1)A valid import licence shall be produced with the customs import entry at the time and place of the importation of the goods to which the licence relates:Provided that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply if the importation of the goods has been authorised by an open general licence, or in the case of any goods permitted to be imported without an import licence.
(2)The Commissioner of Customs or any officer acting on his behalf shall be entitled to refuse to permit the importation of any goods in relation to which production of an import licence is required by this section unless the licence is produced along with the customs import entry for those goods and no liability at law shall attach to the Commissioner or any customs officer by reason of any that refusal.

12. Offence not to comply with conditions of licence

Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any conditions subject to which the importation of goods is authorised by an import licence or by an open general licence commits an offence.

13. False information

Any person who for the purpose of obtaining any licence under this Act—
(a)makes any declaration or statement which is false in any material particular; or
(b)produces any document which is false in any material particular or has not been given by the person by whom it purports to have been given or has been in any way altered or tampered with,
without prejudice to any liability imposed by any other law, commits an offence against this Act unless he proves that he had taken all reasonable steps to ascertain the truth of the declarations or statements made by him or contained in any document so produced or to satisfy himself of the genuineness of any such document.

14. Prohibition against transfer of licence

Any holder of any import licence who, except with the previous written permission of the Controller, transfers or assigns the licence to any other person commits an offence against this Act.

15. Prohibition of imports

(1)The Minister may by order published in the Gazette prohibit or restrict by means of any conditions and limitations which may be specified in the order the importation into Tanzania of any goods or class or description of goods therein set forth either generally or from any specified country or place or from any person or class of persons.
(2)Where the importation of any goods or class or description of goods is prohibited or restricted by any order made under this section, any person who imports or attempts to import those goods into Tanzania in contravention of the said order or any provision of it commits an offence against this Act.

16. Import licence does not authorise importation of prohibited goods

An import licence issued under this Act shall not authorise the importation of any goods the importation of which is prohibited or restricted by any provision made in or under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force in Mainland Tanzania.

17. Cases in which import licence is not required

Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act, no import licence shall be required in respect of the importation of the following goods—
(a)goods imported in transit or for transhipment;
(b)any other goods which the President may by notice published in the Gazette or in such other manner as he may consider necessary to bring the matter to the notice of the public permit to be imported without an import licence.

18. Declaration of sales-controlled goods

(1)The Minister may from time to time by order published in the Gazette declare any goods imported or to be imported to be sales-controlled goods for the purposes of this Act.
(2)Any person who sells or otherwise disposes of any sales-controlled goods imported into Tanzania on or after the date of the publication of an order under subsection (1) of this section otherwise than in accordance with a permit issued by the Controller, commits an offence against this Act.
(3)A permit under subsection (2) of this section may be issued subject to such conditions as the Controller may in his discretion impose.

18A. Industrial Development Levy

(1)There shall be charged a levy known as Industrial Development Levy.
(2)The levy referred to under subsection (1) shall be charged—
(a)at the rates specified in the Schedule; and
(b)on customs value of imported goods entered for home consumption in Mainland Tanzania in accordance with procedures applicable under the East African Community Customs Management Act.[Act No. 1 of 2004]
(3)The levy shall not apply to goods originating from East African Community Partner States that meet the East African Community Rules of Origin.
[section 18A inserted by section 30 of Act 6 of 2024]

19. Powers of entry

(1)Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) and subsection (3) of this section the Imports Controller, any Assistant Imports Controller, or any police officer of or above the rank of Assistant Inspector if he has reasonable cause to believe that an offence under this Act has been committed in respect of any goods and that those goods are stored upon any premises, may, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, enter upon the premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not those goods are on the said premises and inspecting the goods and any documents relating to the importation of those goods.
(2)No dwelling house shall be entered without a warrant except in the presence of the owner or occupier.
(3)Any person who obstructs or hinders the Imports Controller or any other person lawfully exercising any power conferred by subsection (1) of this section commits an offence.

20. Penalty

(1)Any person who commits an offence under this Act shall upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or to both the fine and imprisonment.
(2)Where any person is convicted of an offence under this Act it shall be lawful for the court which convicts him to order that any goods to which the conviction relates shall be forfeited to the Government.

21. Offence committed by company, firm, etc.

Where an offence under this Act is committed by a company or firm or other association of individuals, every director and officer of the company, every partner and officer of the firm and every person concerned in the management of the affairs of that association, as the case may be, shall severally be liable to be prosecuted and punished for the offence in like manner as if he had himself committed the offence, unless the act or omission constituting the offence took place without his knowledge, consent or connivance.

22. Directions by Imports Controller

Any appointment, direction, notice, order or permission which the Imports Controller is authorised to make or give under this Act may, in the absence of any express provision, be communicated to the persons affected thereby by notice published in the Gazette or in any other manner which the Imports Controller may consider necessary to bring the same to the notice of that person.

Schedule (Made under section 18A)

Goods subject to industrial development levy

[Schedule inserted by section 31 of Act 6 of 2024]
 H.S. CodeDescriptionIndustrial Development Levy Rate
1.7213.91.10Wire rod10%
7213.91.90
2.2203.00.10Beer5%
2203.00.90
3.2204.10.00wine10%
2204.21.00
2204.22.00
2204.29.00
2204.30.00
2205.10.00
2205.90.00
4.2202.99.00Energy drink5%
5.2202.91.00Non-alcoholic beer5%
6.3402.50.00Other organic surface-active agents, whether or not put up for retail sale10%
3402.90.00
7.2523.10.00Cement Clinkers10%
8.2523.29.00Portland Cement10%

History of this document

01 July 2025 amendment not yet applied
Amended by Finance Act, 2025
01 July 2024 this version
Amended by Finance Act, 2024
31 December 2023
Chapter 276

Revised Laws 2023

Consolidation
Read this version
31 July 2002
Chapter 276

Revised Laws 2002

Consolidation
Read this version
29 October 1951
Commenced
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