WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/2/Add.94/Rev.1 
28 October 2010 
 (10-5651) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
 
Communication from Tanzania
 
 
Revision  
   The following communication under Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade has been received from the delegation of Tanzania
. 
 
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1. Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) was established under the Ministry of Industries and 
Trade by an Act of Parliament, The Standards Ac t No.3 of 1975 as the National Standards Institute 
and became operational in April 1976.  It was subs equently renamed Tanzania  Bureau of Standards 
through an amendment to the Act by Act No.1 of 1977 and further amende d by Act Supplement No. 2 
of 2009.  
2. The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) was established as part of the efforts by the 
government to strengthen the supporting institutiona l infrastructure for the industry and commercial 
sectors of the economy.  Specifically, TBS was mandated to undertake measures for quality control of 
products of all descriptions and promote standardization in industry and commerce. 
3. In effecting the regulatory role, the Tanzania  Bureau of Standards proposed the following 
regulations which are derived from the Standards Act: 
(a) The Standards (Certification) Regulation 1981,  as subsidiary legislation published on 
27 July 1981 as Government Notice No. 91 under section 31(2) (f) of the Standards Act.  The regulation clarifies: 
(i) prohibition of use of standards mark; 
(ii) application of licences; 
(iii) enquiry preceding granting of licence; 
(iv) inspection by the Bureau of Standard s inspectors both pre-licence and routine 
surveillance;  
(v) granting of licence;  
(vi) register of licensed manufacturers;  
(vii) refusal of application; G/TBT/2/Add.94/Rev.1 
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  (viii) suspension or cancellation of licensees including procedure, consequence, 
and communication of decision findings;  
(ix) system of quality control by licence holder;  
(x) fees schedule. 
(b) The Standards (Tested Products) Regulation,  1984 as subsidiary legislation published 
on 3 August 1984 as Government Notice No. 137 under section 31(2)(f) of the 
Standards Act.  The regulation clarifies: 
(i) meaning and interpretation;  
(ii) procedure for obtaining a Tested Product Certificate; 
(iii) conditions for issue of a Tested Product Certificate; 
(iv) inspection (pre-licence and surveillance);  
(v) termination conditions; 
(vi) register for licensees;  
(vii) communications between the licensor and licensee;  
(viii) fees schedule. 
(c) The Standards (Compulsory Batch Certifi cation of Imports) Regulations, 1998 as 
subsidiary legislation published on 25  December 1998 as Government Notice No. 
672 under section 31 (2) (f) of the Standards Act.  The regulation clarifies: 
(i) meaning and interpretation; 
(ii) application for batch certificates; 
(iii) inspection and sample drawing guidelines;  
(iv) handling of imports with "tbs" quality mark; 
(v) issuance of Batch Certificates; 
(vi) handling nonconforming products; 
(vii) register of licences; 
(viii) issuance of conditional release certificates; 
(ix) disposition of samples;  
(x) fees schedule. 
4. Apart from the contribution by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, quality assurance and 
conformity assessment infrastructure is fragmente d/sectoral based, with different Government  G/TBT/2/Add.94/Rev.1 
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  Ministries and Institutions deliberating issues as per the Acts which brought them into existence. 
Within their areas of jurisdiction are, for example: 
(a) Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives 
- The Plant Protection Act 
- The Tropical Pesticides Research Institute Act 
- Tanzania Radiation Act 
- The Seeds (Standards  and Registration) Act 
 
(b) Ministry of Water and Irrigation 
- The Water Safety Act 
(c) Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism 
- The Bees Act 
- The Forestry Act 
- The Tourism Act 
(d) Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Development 
- The Fisheries Act 
- The Animal Disease Control Act 
- The Diary Industry Act 
- The Hides and Skin Act 
(e) Ministry of Infrastructure Development 
- The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority Act 
- The Marine Act 
(f) Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology 
- The Tanzania - Communications Regulatory Authority Act 
(g) Ministry of Health and Social Welfare 
- The Tanzania Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act 
- The Tanzania Food and Nutrition Act G/TBT/2/Add.94/Rev.1 
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  5. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketi ng (MITM) is the coordinating body for WTO 
matters. The Multilateral Trade Programmes section of  the Ministry of Industries and Trade handles 
the portfolio. MITM is the WTO focal point for Tanzania. 
6. The Inter institutional Technical Committee (IITC) is a WTO standing coordination 
committee comprising of representatives from relevant Ministries and Institutions, both public and 
private, overseeing the overall implementation of the WTO Agreement. 
7. Technical regulations are proposed to the Mini ster for Industry, Trade, and Marketing for 
approval and once approved they are published in the Government gazette. Other Ministries and 
Institutions involved in the preparation, issuance a nd implementation of specific technical regulations.  
These are the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security  and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Water and 
Irrigation, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and 
Tourism, Ministry of Communication Science and Technology, Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Ministry of Health and Soci al Welfare.  These are also published in the 
Government gazette.  The Legal Metrology Agency  of the Ministry of Industries and Trade is 
responsible for legal metrology matters. 
8. The expected length of time for submitting comme nts in writing is currently 60 days and the 
length of time for submitting draft technical regulations is 60 days. 
9. The Tanzania Bureau of Sta ndards has been designated as the WTO-TBT Enquiry Point for 
Tanzania. Its address is as follows: 
Tanzania Bureau of Standards 
P O Box 9425 
Dar es Salaam 
Tanzania. Tel.:  + (255) 22 2450206 Fax:  + (255) 22 2450959 Email:  info@tbstz.org
 
Website:  http://www.tbstz.org  
 
10. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and Marketing is the notifying authority hence 
responsible for submitting all notifications to th e WTO via the Tanzania Mission in Geneva. Its 
address is as follows: 
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing 
P.O.Box 9503 
Dar es salaam 
Tanzania Tel.:  +255 22 2127897/8 Fax:  +255 22 2125832 Email:  ps@mit.go.tz
 
 
  
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