Tanzania

Starting a Business in

Tanzania

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Liability Company
  • City: Dar es Salaam

About This Topic

To see indicator data for all economies, see the Starting a Business page. To see how economies rank, see the Rankings page.

No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Apply for clearance of the proposed company name at the Business Registration and Licensing Authority "BRELA"

A letter of application for clearance for a proposed company name can be submitted by mail to the Registrar of Companies, which clears the name upon search automatically. The search establishes the availability of the proposed name. Upon receiving notification whether the name is available, applicants prepare the memorandum and articles of association and submit them for the company registration process. When these documents are prepared and presented for registration without name clearance, the search is done during the registration process with a chance of rejection if the search reveals a similar name in the Register.
1 day no charge
2 Apply for a certificate of incorporation and of commencement to Registrar of Companies

Business trade names (Cap 213) and companies (Cap 212) can be registered only in Dar es Salaam. A lawyer is not required, but using one is standard practice.
To apply for a certificate of incorporation, a subscriber, secretary, or a person named in the articles of association as a director must submit the following to the Registrar of Companies:
-14a (First Directors and Secretary and Intended situation of Registered Office)
- 14b (Declaration of Compliance on Application for the Regiatration of a Company)
The Memorandum and Articles of Association are also filed with the forms.

After the forms are filed, the certificate of incorporation is usually processed 2-3 days after the forms are filed.Registration forms are free, and applicable registration fees (according to the New Companies Act 2002) are shown below.

Although there are no standard articles of association, Table A of the Schedules to the Companies Ordinance may be adopted. The fee for incorporating companies with capital below TZS 1 million is 10% but is negotiable.

Company registration fee (based on share capital):
- Share capital from 20,000 to 500,000: TZS 50,000.
- Share capital from 500,000 to 1,000,000: TZS 80,000.
- Share capital from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000: TZS 100,000.
- Share capital from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000: TZS 120,000.
- Share capital from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000: TZS 150,000.
- Share capital from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000: TZS 180,000.
- Share capital from 10,000,000 to 30,000,000: TZS 200,000.
- Share capital 30,000,000 and over: TZS 300,000.

Filing fee: TZS 45,000 : 15,000 per document

Stamp duty fee:
- Original memorandum and articles of association: TZS 6,200.
- Additional copies: TZS 5,000.

 7 days TZS 206,200
3 Apply for taxpayer identification number (TIN) with the Tanzania Revenue Authority

TIN registration is at no cost. Tax registration has been fully computerized. It takes a minimum of 2 days to obtain TIN number, depending on the number of request made to the Revenue Authority at the time.
2 days no charge
* 4 Income tax officials inspect the office site of the new company


1 day, simultaneous with procedure 3 no charge
* 5 Apply for PAYE with the Tanzania Revenue Authority


1 day, simultaneous with procedure 4 no charge
6 Apply for business license from the regional trade officer (depending on the nature of business)

The business license automatically registers the company for various taxes imposed by the Dar es Salaam City Commission (for example, the development levy). The application is at no charge for companies with a turnover of less than TZS 40 million and certain health providers.
6 days TZS 1,000
* 7 Receive a land and town inspection of the premises

The promoters must provide transportation for the land- and town-planning officer to inspect the company premises.
1 day, simultaneous with procedure 6 transport cost, trivial
* 8 Have the health officer inspect the premises and obtain his signature

The promoters must provide transportation for the health officer to inspect the company premises.
1 day, simultaneous with procedure 6 transport cost, trivial
9 Apply for VAT certificate with the Tanzania Revenue Authority

VAT registration takes 3–5 days if the proposed company will have a threshold income of TZS 40 million.
4 days no charge
* 10 Reveive VAT/stamp duty inspection

Manufacturing firms can submit Form 225 to the VAT Commissioner for exemption of VAT on capital goods. VAT registration and inspection takes 4 days, so it is assumed that the inspection takes 3 days. Businesses eligible for VAT registration are ones with a turnover above TZS 40,000,000 in Tanzania Mainland, and TZS 20,000,000 in Zanzibar. The composition number gives the right to pay a lower stamp duty than otherwise.
1 day, simultaneous with procedure 9 no charge
11 Register for the workmen’s compensation insurance at the National Insurance Corporation or other alternative insurance policy

To register for workers’ compensation insurance, employers must complete the Workmen’s Compensation Tariff Proposal Form. This form should be completed once the firm begins hiring employees and just before the firm becomes operational. However, because the insurance industry is privatized in Tanzania, employers may opt to take an insurance policy instead of workmen’s compensation claims.
1 day no charge
12 Obtain registration number at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF)

It takes a week to obtain the registration number at the National Social Security Fund.
7 days no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Explore Economy Data