Customs and clearing
Export procedures, permits and export levies in Tanzania
Short answer
- Customs system
- TANCIS, the Tanzania Customs Integrated System 1
- Who lodges
- A licensed clearing and forwarding agent 1
- Core documents
- Invoice, packing list, TIN certificate, authorization letter and any permits 1
- Export tax law
- Export Tax Act, Cap. 196, Revised Edition 2023 3
- When export tax is due
- Before the goods are removed from Tanzania, paid by the exporter 3
- Free port storage, domestic export containers
- First 5 days, then US$16 or US$32 a day by size 9
- Trade information portal
- Tanzania Trade Portal, run by TanTrade 8
Step by step at TRA and the port
- The exporter appoints a licensed clearing and forwarding agent. 1
- The agent uploads the documents and permits to TANCIS 1.
- TRA assesses export taxes and duties, if any 1.
- The agent books containers with the shipping line. Cargo is stuffed at a container freight station under TRA and agency supervision 1.
- After customs clears the documents, TRA issues an approved Release Order 2.
- The agent takes the Shipping Order, Release Order and Loading Permission to the TPA Main Export Office, which issues an invoice for port charges 2.
- The agent announces the truck in the cargo system and gets a Gate-in-Ticket 2.
- The terminal sends TRA carry-in and loading result reports. TRA confirms loading, then approves the export manifest, which clears the terminal inventory 1.
Documents and permits
TRA lists an invoice, a packing list, the exporter's TIN certificate, an authorization letter and any export certificates or permits. Permits come from the ministries for agriculture, livestock and fisheries, minerals, natural resources and health. Health permits are from TMDA 1.
Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe said all food crop export permits would be issued online from 1 July 2023, as reported by Henry Lyimo of Daily News. The report said crops regulated by boards and perishables were outside that change 7.
The Tanzania Trade Portal is run by the Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) under the National Trade Facilitation Committee. It lists export procedures by product, such as cashew, coffee and tea, and certificates of origin for the EAC, SADC, AGOA and the EU 8.
Goods that pay export levy
TRA says all exports are free of duty and taxes except six items, but its page lists ten entries 1. For raw hides and skins the two sources differ. TRA's page, read on 24 October 2026, reads "80% of FOB value or 0.52 USD per kilogram whichever is higher" 1. Item 1 of the Export Tax Act Schedule, Revised Edition 2023, reads "Eight percentum of the value of the commodity (f.o.b) or 0.52 USD per kilograme, whichever is greater" 3. The Schedule's amendment notes end at Act No. 5 of 2022. The Finance Acts of 2024, 2025 and 2026 add items 4 to 9 and leave item 1 unchanged 3,4 5,6. TRA excludes EPZ investors holding a meat processor certificate from the hides levy 1.
| Goods | Rate on the TRA page | Legal source |
|---|---|---|
| Raw hides and skins 1 | 80% of FOB or US$0.52 per kg, whichever is higher 1 | Export Tax Act item 1, eight percentum of f.o.b value or 0.52 USD per kg 3 |
| Raw cashew nuts 1 | 15% of FOB or US$160 per metric ton, whichever is higher 1 | Export levy under the Cashewnut Industry Act, section 17A 4 |
| Wet blue leather 1 | 10% of FOB 1 | Export Tax Act item 2 3 |
| Copper waste or scrap, headings 72.04 and 74.04 1 | 30% of FOB or US$150 per ton, whichever is higher 1 | Export Tax Act item 3 3 |
| Sunflower seeds and crude sunflower oil 1 | 10% of FOB 1 | Items 4 and 5, added by the Finance Act, 2024 4 |
| Veneered sheets, heading 44.08 1 | 30% of FOB or TZS 150 per kg, whichever is higher 1 | Item 6, added by the Finance Act, 2025 5 |
| Waste paper or paperboard, heading 47.07 1 | 30% of FOB or TZS 200 per kg, whichever is higher 1 | Item 7, added by the Finance Act, 2026 6 |
| Cotton cake, sunflower cake, wheat, rice and maize bran 1 | TZS 50 per kg 1 | Item 8, added by the Finance Act, 2026 6 |
| Quartz sands and feldspar 1 | 10% or TZS 200 per kg, whichever is higher 1 | Item 9, added by the Finance Act, 2026 6 |
Who collects export tax and where cashew money goes
Under section 3 of the Export Tax Act, the tax is charged, levied and collected by the Commissioner on exports of the goods in the Schedule. It is due and payable by the exporter before the goods are removed from Tanzania 3.
The Revised Edition 2023 defines the Commissioner as the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury 3. The Finance Act, 2025 redefined the Commissioner as the Commissioner General under the TRA Act from 1 July 2025 5.
Two Finance Acts set rules for the cashew export levy. Section 15 of the Finance Act, 2024 added a proviso to section 17A(2) of the Cashewnut Industry Act. It says "the whole amount of export levy collected under subsection (1) shall be remitted to the Cashewnut Board", for five years from 1 July 2024 4. Section 25 of the Finance Act, 2025 replaced the proviso to section 18(2) of that Act. From 1 July 2025, TRA "shall deposit the whole amount of export levy" into the Board's account at the Bank of Tanzania "for a period of four years" 5.
Port storage for exports
The TPA Deep Sea Tariff Book of January 2026 gives domestic full container exports 5 free days, then US$16 a day up to 20 feet and US$32 a day above 20 feet until shipment 9. Conventional domestic exports get 5 free days from when TPA accepts the cargo, then US$0.50 per harbour ton a day until loading 9.
Common questions
Do I pay tax to export goods from Tanzania?
TRA says exports are free of duty and taxes except listed goods, such as raw hides and skins, raw cashew nuts, wet blue leather, copper scrap and some seeds and by-products 1.
What is the export levy on raw cashew nuts?
TRA gives 15% of FOB value or US$160 per metric ton, whichever is higher 1.
When is export tax paid?
The exporter pays before the goods leave Tanzania, under section 3(3) of the Export Tax Act 3.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@tanzaniatradesystems.com.
Sources
- Tanzania Revenue Authority: Export procedures (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Tanzania Ports Authority: Export process (accessed 24 October 2026)
- United Republic of Tanzania: Export Tax Act, Cap. 196, Revised Edition 2023, copy hosted by TRA (2023)
- United Republic of Tanzania: Finance Act, 2024, No. 6 of 2024, copy hosted by TRA (30 June 2024)
- United Republic of Tanzania: Finance Act, 2025, No. 11 of 2025, copy hosted by TRA (30 June 2025)
- United Republic of Tanzania: Finance Act, 2026, No. 2 of 2026, copy hosted by TRA (30 June 2026)
- Daily News, Henry Lyimo: Food crop export permits goes online (22 June 2023)
- Tanzania Trade Development Authority: Tanzania Trade Portal (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Tanzania Ports Authority: Deep Sea Tariff Book (January 2026)
Related
- TANCIS: the Tanzania Customs Integrated System
What TANCIS does, who runs it, when it started, what it replaced, which systems it links to and what the CAG found about its integration.
- Customs agent licence for clearing and forwarding in Tanzania
TRA requirements, fees and bond for a customs clearing agent licence in Tanzania, with renewal rules, the interview and the licence period.
- Cashew auctions and payments to farmers in Tanzania
How raw cashew moves from farmer to buyer in Tanzania: AMCOS collection, warehouse receipts, TMX auctions, Cashew Board rules, payments and season figures.
- Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA)
What the Tanzania Ports Authority does: legal basis, ports run, e-port systems, import and export steps, port charge payment and the DP World concession.
- Tanzania Revenue Authority customs
The customs role of the Tanzania Revenue Authority: TANCIS and TeSWS, import and export steps, licences and fees, and one stop border posts.