Excise duty on imported goods in Tanzania

What excise duty on imports covers

TRA says excise duty applies to certain consumer goods on importation. It names beer and cigarettes, goods whose use creates negative effects such as petroleum, UV or LED nail curing machines and plastic or rubber clogs, and soft drinks and motor vehicles for revenue ¹.

The duty is charged at a specific rate, such as shillings per litre or per kilogram, or at an ad valorem rate. For ad valorem rates, the tax base is the CIF value plus the import duty ¹. Import duty itself is collected before goods are entered for home consumption ¹.

TRA publishes the Excise (Management and Tariff) Act and each Finance Act in its Acts library ².

Motor vehicles

A TRA page on excise for scheduled articles sets the rate on motor vehicles by cylinder capacity. Vehicles up to 1000 cc pay 0%. Vehicles over 1000 cc and up to 2000 cc pay 5%. Vehicles over 2000 cc pay 10% ⁵.

Used vehicles pay an extra excise duty by age. The TRA page, which carries no date and was read on 24 October 2026, gives the rates in the middle column ⁵. Section 8 of the Finance Act, 2026 replaced the age rates in the renumbered section 126(9) of the Excise Act from 1 July 2026. The new text reads "18% in respect of the imported vehicle aged eight years but not more than ten years", "35% in respect of the imported vehicle aged more than ten years but not more than twenty years" and "40% in respect of the imported vehicle aged more than twenty years" ⁴. The TRA page reads 15% for "used vehicles excluding agricultural tractors aged 8 years but not more than 10 years" and 30% for "used motor vehicles aged more than 10 years" ⁵. The Citizen reported on 1 July 2026 that importing a used vehicle costs more under the new Act ⁶.

• The TRA page excludes agricultural tractors from the 8 to 10 year rate ⁵.
• The TRA page lists 10% on used buses more than 5 years old and 25% on used spare parts for vehicles and motorcycles ⁵.
• The Finance Act, 2026 adds Fourth Schedule line 8703.21.90 for assembled vehicles up to 1000 cc at 5% ⁴.

Changes in the last three Finance Acts

Each Finance Act amends the Fourth Schedule. The table shows changes to imported goods confirmed in the TRA copies of each Act ^{3,7 4}.

• The Finance Act, 2025 added a 20% duty on certain imported used tableware and kitchenware, of headings 39.24, 44.19 and 82.15 and HS codes under 7323, 7418 and 7615 ⁷.
• The Finance Act, 2024 let excise paid on HS 2207.10.00 used as a raw material be offset against excise due on finished goods under headings 22.04 or 22.08 ³.

Yearly inflation adjustment

Section 8 of the Finance Act, 2026 replaced section 126(3) of the Excise Act. Specific excise rates are now adjusted each year by the year-on-year inflation rate for the period ending March, plus 2 percent ⁴. The Act was assented on 30 June 2026 and took effect on 1 July 2026 ⁴.

Paying excise on imports

TRA says import duty, excise duty and VAT on imports are paid through commercial banks or mobile networks using a GePG control number. Some bank offices sit inside TRA offices ¹. Port and airport charges are paid on top ¹.