Import Procedures

• Importers in Tanzania are required to establish whether or not the goods to be imported are subject to Preslupment Inspection (PSI).
• Obtain and fill an Import Declaration Form (IDF) from any commercial bank. Fee payable is US$ 10, attach a proforma invoice to the completed form.
• 1.2% of FOB value must be paid to a designated commercial bank when submitting the IDF to the Bank, for goods worth US$ 5000 and above. This fee is called "The Pre-shipment Inspection Fee".
• Consignment with proforma invoice FOB value of less than US$ 5,000 or any other such value as may be determined from time to time are exempted from PSI.
• There are exceptions for some goods for PSI e.g.
  1. Gold, precious stones and precious metals
  2. Live animals and perishables
  3. Goods returned to the country after repair
  4. Household and personal effects including one motor vehicle for Tanzanians returning from a foreign country.
  5. Scrap metal, current newspapers and periodicals, parcel post and commercial samples
  6. Objects of Art, explosive and pyrotechnic products, implements of war, ammunition and weapons
  7. Imports of new motor vehicles by registered franchise holders.
• The Commercial Banks are then obliged to pass the IDF and Proforma invoice to PSI company as quickly as possible in order to avoid delays. Without these documents, PSI company will be unaware of your transaction. It is in your interest therefore to ensure that your bank transfers the documents to the PSI in a timely manner.
• Upon receipt of the IDF, the executing office in the country of supply automatically contacts the seller on record detailed on the importer’s IDF to request information and arrange inspection.
• Upon receipt of the IDF and proforma invoice, the details are entered on the PSI Dar es Salaam company and sent to the inspecting PSI office in the declared country of supply.

Implementation started in the 2000 with consultations and research. It ended up with drafting a policy document which after consensus building exercise and raising awareness among the public, the policy was adopted for implementation as a National Trade Policy in 2003.

The goal of Tanzania trade policy is to facilitate smooth integration into multilateral Trading Systems and rollback the gradual descent towards marginalisation. It is intended to ensure that liberalisation of economy offers meaningful, identifiable and measurable benefits.