Tanzania Foreign Exchange Regulations

The Foreign Exchange Regulations, 2022, made under section 6(1) of the Foreign Exchange Act, CAP 271, were published as Government Notice No. 294 on 13 May 2022. They attracted considerable attention among traders and investors in Tanzania.

The regulations govern how residents and non residents may deal in foreign currency and they reach further into ordinary commercial activity than many businesses expect. If your company exports, imports, pays a foreign supplier, remits dividends or borrows from abroad, these are the rules that apply to the transaction.

What the regulations cover

• Dealing in foreign currency and in gold, including declaration requirements
• Payments made by non residents to residents
• Export transactions, including export proceeds, pricing and the timing of exportation
• Import transactions and payments for imports
• Outward remittances, including payments for services outside Tanzania and dividends to foreign shareholders
• Capital and financial account transactions, including securities, inward direct investment and borrowing from abroad
• Monitoring, enforcement, reporting by banks and financial institutions, exemptions and penalties

Why it matters

The obligations sit with the business, not only with its bank. Requirements around the repatriation of export proceeds, the documentation of outward payments and reporting of foreign borrowing are the areas where we most often see companies fall out of step without realising it.

This page is a summary of scope only. It is not advice on any particular transaction. If you need to confirm how the regulations apply to a payment or an investment, speak to us before it is made rather than afterwards.