WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/2/Add.94 
31 August 2007 
 (07-3665) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
 
Communication from Tanzania
 
 
Addendum  
   The following communication under Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade has been received from the Delegation of Tanzania
. 
 
_______________ 
 
 1. The Tanzania Standards Institute was set up on 3 April 1975 under the Standards Act to 
provide for the promotion of standardization of sp ecifications of commodities,  to establish a National 
Standards Institute, and to provide for the functions, management, and c ontrol of the institute  enacted 
by the parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania. 
2. The Act was revised on 18 February 1977 when it changed its name to the Tanzania Bureau 
of Standards. 
3. The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) is a regulatory body which regulates the quality of 
goods within the customs territory. 
4. 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; 
(viii) suspension or cancellation of licensees including procedure, consequence, 
and communication of decision findings;  G/TBT/2/Add.94 
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  (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. 13 7 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 Certification 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. 
5. Apart from the contribution by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, quality assurance and 
conformity assessment infrastructure is fragmente d/sectoral based, with different Government 
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 and Food Security  
− Plant production Act 
− Tanzania Pesticides Residues Act 
− Tanzania Radiation Act 
 
(b) Ministry of Water and Livestock Development 
− Animal Health Act 
− Water Safety Act  G/TBT/2/Add.94 
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(c) Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism 
− Bees Act 
− Fisheries Act 
− Forestry Act 
 
(d) Ministry of Communication and Transport 
− Marine Act 
− Communications Act 
 
(e) Ministry of Health 
− Tanzania Food and Drugs Act 
− Tanzania Food and Nutrition Act 
 6. The Ministry of Industries and Trade (MIT) is  the coordinating body for WTO matters.  The 
Multilateral Trade Programmes section of the Ministry  of Industries and Trade handles the portfolio.  
MIT is the WTO focal point for Tanzania. 
7. The International Technical Committee (ITC)  is a WTO standing coordination committee 
comprising of representatives from relevant Minist ries and Institutions, both public and private, 
overseing the overall implementation of the WTO Agreement. 
8. Technical regulations are proposed to the Minister for Industries of Trade, Industry and 
Marketing for approval and once a pproved they are published in th e Government gazette.  Other 
Ministries and Institutions involved in the prep aration, issuance and implementation of specific 
technical regulations.  These are the Ministry of Ag riculture and Food Security, the Ministry of Water 
and Livestock Development, the Ministry of Na tural Resources and Tourism, the Ministry of 
Communication and Transport, and the Ministry of Health.  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. 
9. 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. 
10. 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 9525 Dar Es Salaam Telephone: +(255) 22 2450206 Telefax: +(255) 22 2450959 Email:  info@tbstz.org 
Website: www.tbstz.org 
 11. The Ministry of Industries and Trade is res ponsible for submitting all notifications to the 
WTO via the Tanzania Mission in Geneva. 
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