CHAPTER 130
STANDARDS ACT

[SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION]

INDEX TO SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

    NOTICES

        The Standards (Declaration of Standardisation Marks) Notice

        The Standards (Prescription of Standards Marks) Notice

        The Standards (Preliminary Notice of Recommendation of Compulsory Standards) Notice

    REGULATIONS

        The Standards (Certification) Regulations

        The Standards (Compulsory Batch Certification of Imports) Regulations

NOTICES

THE STANDARDS (DECLARATION OF STANDARDISATION MARKS) NOTICE

(Section 16)

G.N. No. 28 of 1981

    1. This Notice may be cited as the Standards (Declaration of Standardisation Marks) Notice.

    2. The device described and illustrated in the Schedule to this Notice has been approved by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, and is hereby declared to be the standardisation mark which shall, subject to paragraphs 3 and 4, be used for the identification of commodities manufactured, produced, processed or treated in compliance with standards framed by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards.

    3. Where the standardisation mark is applied in relation to any commodity, there shall be affixed immediately below it the mark of the standard with which the manufacture, production processing or treatment of the commodity complies.

    4. A commodity shall not be deemed to have been manufactured, produced, processed or treated in compliance with a standard framed by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards unless the standardisation mark is applied in relation to it in accordance with paragraph 2 and 3 of this Notice.

SCHEDULE

    A cog-wheel of twelve projections and depressions of equal size and space in between, with the letters "tbs" in the centre of the wheel, and the mark of a standard concerned affixed immediately below it.

    Explanatory Note:

        This note is not part of the Notice but is intended to explain its general purport. Where the cog-wheel alone is displayed on a commodity or its container it shall not be a complete standardisation mark unless it is accompanied by the mark of the standard with which the commodity purports to comply. The number marked with an asterisk is the mark of the standard, and will change according to the Tanzania Standard with which a commodity complies.

THE STANDARDS (PRESCRIPTION OF STANDARDS MARKS) NOTICE

(Section 16)

G.Ns. Nos.
29 of 1981
54 of 1981
265 of 1988
54 of 1983
82 of 1992

    1. This Notice may be cited as the Standards (Prescription of Standards Marks) Notice.

    2. The marks specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Notice are each hereby prescribed to be a mark for the standard in respect of the commodity or item which is described opposite to it in the second column of the Schedule.

    3. The Standard framed by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards in respect of each commodity or item is more particularly described in a pamphlet relating to that commodity or item, published as a supplement to the "ANNOUNCER", a journal periodically published by the Bureau and available to the public.

SCHEDULE

THE STANDARDS (PRELIMINARY NOTICE OF RECOMMENDATION OF COMPULSORY STANDARDS) NOTICE

(Section 17(1))

[1st March, 1983]

G.N. No. 53 of 1983

    1. This Notice may be cited as the Standards (Preliminary Notice of Recommendation of Compulsory Standards) Notice.

    2. Notice is hereby given that the Tanzania Bureau of Standards proposes to recommend to the Minister that he declare the Standards specified in the Schedule to this Notice to be compulsory standards for the commodities, items or codes of practice in relation to which they are framed.

    3. The standards specified in the Schedule to this Notice are each more particularly described in a separate pamphlet relating to it published as a supplement to the "ANNOUNCER" a journal periodically published by the Bureau and available to the public.

    4. Any person interested in any of the standards specified in the Schedule to this Notice may lodge objections in writing with the Bureau by registered mail addressed to the Bureau or by personally leaving them at the office of the Director in Dar es Salaam, within two months from the first day of March, 1983.

SCHEDULE
PROPOSED COMPULSORY STANDARDS

REGULATIONS

THE STANDARDS (CERTIFICATION) REGULATIONS

(Section 31(2)(f))

G.N. No. 91 of 1981

1.    Citation

    These Regulations may be cited as the Standards (Certification) Regulations.

2.    Interpretation

    In these Regulations, unless the context requires otherwise–

    "Act" means the Standards Act *;

    "applicant" means an individual or body or persons applying for a licence;

    "Director" means the Director of the Tanzania Bureau of Standards;

    "licence" means licence granted in accordance with these regulations entitling the holder to apply a standard mark or marks to any commodity, or process, manufacture, or used by him in the manufacture or treatment of any commodity;

    "standards mark" means a standards mark devised and approved by the Bureau for use in identification of commodities or processes complying with standards framed by the Bureau.

3.    Prohibition on use of standards marks

    (1) No person shall apply any standards mark to any commodity or process unless he is the holder of a licence granted in accordance with these Regulations.

    (2) Any person who contravenes, or fails or refuses to comply with, the provisions of this Regulation commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to be punished in accordance with section 23 of the Act.

4.    Applications for licences

    (1) Every application for a licence shall be made to the Director, and he may in his discretion grant or refuse any application.

    (2) Every application for a licence shall be made in triplicate in the FORM A specified in the First Schedule to these Regulations, and shall be accompanied with the prescribed fees.

    (3) There shall be attached to every application a statement explaining in detail the scheme of inspection and testing which the applicant maintains or has in use or purposes to maintain or put into use for the purpose or regulating or securing the appropriate quality of the articles or process, during the manufacture of the article or the application of the process in respect of which the licence is sought.

    (4) Every application shall–

    (a)    where the applicant is an individual, be signed by him, and contain, in legible form, the full name of that individual; and

    (b)    where the applicant is a body of persons, whether or not corporate, be signed by the person authorised to sign a declaration on behalf of that body of persons, clearly indicating his full name and the position by virtue of which he holds the authority to sign the application on behalf of the body of persons.

    (5) Upon receipt by the Director, every application shall be assigned a number signifying its order to receipt, and the Bureau shall acknowledge the receipt of that application.

5.    Inquiry preceding grant of licence

    (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Regulation, the Director may, after receipt of any application, by notice in writing call upon the applicant to furnish him with any further documentary or other information in support or clarification of any statement made by him in the application.

    (2) Where the Director calls upon an applicant to furnish further information in pursuance of the provisions of paragraph (1), non-compliance with the notice by the applicant, within the time which may have been specified by the Director in the notice shall be deemed to be withdrawal of the application by the applicant, and the Director shall not be obliged to consider the application on the merit of the available information.

    (3) Where the Director considers that any application is properly made to him and is fit for consideration, he may–

    (a)    require the applicant to furnish proof that commodity or process in respect of which the application for a licence is made to conform to the standard or standards concerned, and may, for that purpose direct the applicant to submit, at the cost of the applicant, adequate samples to a testing authority specified by the Director;

    (b)    require the applicant to furnish proof of the existence and operation by him of a scheme of testing and inspection with which to ensure that all marked commodities or processes shall conform to the standard in questions;

    (c)    appoint an inspector to inspect the premises of the applicant for the purpose of verifying the truthfulness of any evidence submitted in pursuance of subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph;

    (d)    on the basis of any findings from an inspection carried out in pursuance of subparagraph (c), require the applicant to carry out any alterations in the scheme of inspection and testing or in the process of manufacture used by the applicant which the Director may specify,

and the applicant shall comply with the requirement.

6.    Inspection by Bureau

    (1) Where the Director requires that an inspection be carried out of the premises of any applicant, and where it is necessary to inspect the premises of any person holding a licence issued under these Regulations–

    (a)    a reasonable notice of the proposed inspection shall be given to the applicant or, as the case may be, the person holding the licence;

    (b)    an inspector shall not take any sample of any article, material or substance, save in the presence of the owner or occupier of the premises being inspected or his representative;

    (c)    an inspector may at his discretion, and shall if the owner or occupier of the premises being inspected requests him to do so, take duplicate samples and give one sample to the owner or occupier of the premises;

    (d)    an inspector may at his discretion, and shall if the owner or occupier of the premises requests him to do so, place each sample in a container and seal each sample in the presence of the owner or occupier or his representative, labelling the sample all the necessary details, and shall then show the impressions of the seals in his report;

    (e)    every inspector shall issue a receipt for each sample he takes to the owner or occupier of the premises inspected, and shall retain a duplicate copy of each receipt, both the original and the duplicate having been duly signed by the person in whose presence the sample was taken; and

    (f)    the owner or occupier of the premises inspected shall cause the facsimile of the standards mark to be used by him to be approved by the Director.

    (2) Nothing in this Regulation shall be interpreted as preventing an inspector from carrying out, at his discretion an inspection without giving any prior notice to the owner or occupier of the premises to be inspected.

    (3) In the performance of his functions under this Regulation, an inspector may take sample of articles marked with a standards mark, which he finds stocked in the premises, or which are offered for sale in the open market, by the applicant or the owner or occupier of premises under inspection.

    (4) The Director shall cause to be carried out, in respect of every licence held in accordance with these Regulations, at least two inspections in every twelve months.

7.    Report

    Every inspector shall make and submit to the Director a detailed report relating to every inspection made by him pursuant to Regulation 6.

8.    Grant of licence

    (1) Where, after any inquiry, the Director is satisfied that the applicant is a proper person to use a standards mark he shall grant a licence to the applicant.

    (2) Every licence granted under paragraph (1) shall be in the FORM B specified in the Second Schedule to these Regulations.

    (3) A licence granted under these Regulations shall be an authority for the holder to use the standards mark in respect of the commodities or category of commodities manufactured by him or in respect of the process applied by him in any manufacture or work.

    (4) The licence granted under this Regulation shall be subject to the terms or conditions which the Director may impose.

    (5) Every licence shall remain in force for a period of not more than twelve months and may be renewed, upon the grantee applying for renewal at least one month before the expiry of the original period and a licence shall not at any one time, be renewed for a period exceeding twelve months.

    (6) Subject to giving a notice of not less than one month to the holder, the Director may at any time during the currency of a licence alter any of the conditions or terms subject to which the licence was granted.

9.    Register of licensed manufacturers

    (1) As soon as practicable after the grant, restoration or renewal of a licence, the Director shall cause to be entered in a register, kept and maintained for the purpose and in the form which may be determined by him, in respect of the person permitted to hold or continue to hold a licence the following particulars–

    (a)    his name and address, where he is an individual, and the business name, if any, of his enterprise; where the holder of the licence is a body of persons, the name of that body and its address;

    (b)    the date of grant, renewal or restoration of licence;

    (c)    the serial number, if any, of the licence;

    (d)    the commodity or commodities or the process or processes to which the licence granted renewed or restored relates;

    (e)    the number and titles of the standard or standards to which the licence relates;

    (f)    particulars of any suspension, cancellation or renewal in respect of the licence;

    (g)    any other particulars which the Director may, from time to time, direct.

    (2) All changes in the particulars registered under paragraph (1) shall be entered in the register by the Director.

    (3) The Director may, with the general or specific approval of the Council, cause to be rectified any clerical errors in the register or other document containing extracts from the register.

10.    Refusal of application

    (1) Where, after any necessary inquiry, the Director is of the view that a licence should not be granted to any applicant, he may, within three months from the date of receipt of the application, call upon the applicant to show cause why his application should not be refused, giving him any opportunity to be heard which may be just and reasonable.

    (2) At any hearing given to the applicant in pursuance of the provisions of paragraph (1), an applicant may appear in person or by authorised representative.

    (3) Before refusing the application the Director may take into account any fact or explanation urged by or on behalf of the applicant at any hearing held in accordance with this Regulation.

11.    Suspension or cancellation of licensed

    (1) The Director shall suspend any licence granted under these Regulations, if he is satisfied that–

    (a)    the commodities marked with the standards mark under a licence do not in fact comply with the relevant standard;

    (b)    the holder of a licence has used the standards mark in relation to a process which does not comply with a relevant standard;

    (c)    the holder of a licence has, without reasonable excuse, failed or refused to provide reasonable facilities to any inspector to facilitate the discharge of his functions in relation to the licence concerned;

    (d)    the holder of the licence has, without the permission of the Bureau and without reasonable excuse, failed or refused to comply with any of the condition or terms to which the licence was made subject, and upon the suspension, subject to any conditions which the Director may deem fit to impose, the licence shall cease to have effect.

    (2) The Director shall, either of his own motion or upon the petition of any person cancel any licence granted under these Regulations, if he is satisfied that–

    (a)    the holder of the licence knowingly made a false statement or a statement which he did not believe to be true in his applications or at any inquiry or inspection prior to the grant of the licence;

    (b)    the holder of the licence no longer meet all or a majority of the conditions prerequisite to which the licence was granted;

    (c)    the holder of the licence has been convicted of an offence under the Act or these Regulations involving the disregard of standards prescribed in connection with the commodities which he produces under the authority of the licence;

    (d)    the holder of the licence has been guilty of fraudulent or dishonesty in his business in relation to matters concerning the maintenance of standards.

    (3) A licence may be cancelled for grounds specified in paragraph (2)(c), upon the recommendation, or receipt of the judgment, of the court by which the holder of the licence was convicted of the offence.

    (4) When a licence is suspended or cancelled, the Director shall cause a notification to be given to the holder informing him of that fact and of the reasons for the suspension or, as the case may be, the cancellation.

    (5) Save in the case of cancellation under paragraph (2)(c), no licence shall be cancelled or suspended unless–

    (a)    the holder of the licence has previously been notified of the proposed measure and the reasons for it; and

    (b)    the holder of the licence has then been given a reasonable opportunity to be heard,

and the Director takes into account the findings of the inquiry so conducted, subject to Regulation 12.

12.    Procedure for suspension or cancellation

    (1) The Director shall, prior to suspending or cancelling any licence, give to the holder a notice of not less than fourteen days, informing him of the intention to suspend or cancel the licence.

    (2) Upon receipt of the notice, the holder of the licence may, within not more than seven days from receipt, submit any explanations to the Director which he may have.

    (3) Where an explanation is submitted, the Director shall consider it and afford a hearing to the holder of the licence within fourteen days of its receipt or before the expiry of the notice, whichever is the latter occurrence; but where no explanation is submitted the Director may, on expiry of the notice, cancel or suspend the licence.

13.    Consequences of suspension or cancellation of licence

    (1) Where any licence is cancelled or suspended, the Director shall cause to be published in the Gazette, and in at least one newspaper published and circulated in the United republic, the fact of the cancellation or suspension and the particulars of the licence cancelled or, as the case may be suspended.

    (2) Upon a licence being cancelled or suspended, or where a licence is not renewed, the holder of the licence shall immediately discontinue the application of the standards mark concerned in respect of the commodity or process in question, notwithstanding that there is an appeal pending against the cancellation, suspension or non-renewal of the licence.

    (3) Where a licence is cancelled, if there are with the holder or his agents any articles in stock which bear the standards mark concerned, the holder or his agents, as the case may be, shall take all necessary measures to remove, cancel, deface or remove the standards mark from these commodities.

14.    Communication of decisions and findings

    All decisions made by the Director of the Bureau in relation to any application or licence, and all findings or conclusions reached by any inspector at the conclusion of every inspection, shall be made known to the applicant or holder of a licence, and shall be communicated in writing and sent by registered post to his last known address.

15.    Inspection and testing

    (1) It shall be a condition attached to every licence that the holder shall institute and maintain a system of control to keep unreduced the quality of his production or process by means of a scheme of inspection and testing approved by the Bureau prior to the issue of the licence.

    (2) Every holder of licence shall keep and maintain a detailed record of the application of the scheme of inspection and testing for the purposes of establishing the actual maintenance of the required control of the quality of the production or process, and the records shall be available for inspection on demand by any inspector of the Bureau.

    (3) Where there is reasonable cause to believe that any standards mark has been or is being used in contravention of the Act or these Regulations, the Bureau may at any time cause an inspection to be carried out in accordance with section 21 of the Act.

16.    Fees

    There shall be charged and paid such fees in respect of the matters specified in the Third Schedule to these regulations.

FIRST SCHEDULE

"FORM A"
APPLICATION FOR LICENCE TO USE THE STANDARD MARK

SECOND SCHEDULE

"FORM B"
LICENCE FOR THE USE OF STANDARD MARK

    Schedule of Marking Fee for Licence No. .....................................................................

To Licence No. ............................................................. Scheme of Testing and Inspection.

THIRD SCHEDULE
FEES

THE STANDARDS (COMPULSORY BATCH CERTIFICATION OF IMPORTS) REGULATIONS

(Section 31)

G.N. No. 672 of 1998

PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS (regs 1-2)

1.    Citation

    These Regulations may be cited as the Standards (Compulsory Batch Certification of Imports) Regulations.

2.    Interpretation

    In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

    "Act" means the Standards Act *;

    "batch certificate" means a certificate issued by the Bureau certifying or attesting that a particular import consignment or shipment of the commodity as sampled and attested conforms to the specified Tanzania standard or international or foreign standard recognized by the Bureau;

    "Bureau" means the Tanzania Bureau of Standards established under the Act;

    "compulsory batch certification" means collection of samples of the imported product from a consignment either at the port of entry into the United Republic of Tanzania or at agreed premises by the Bureau's inspectors or some other Bureau's authorized third party impartial body, followed by subsequent testing and issuance of a test certificate testifying the clearance of the import for entry and sale into the United Republic of Tanzania;

    "conditional release certificate" means a certificate issued by the Bureau to the importer allowing release of the imported goods from the customs custody after compliance with customs requirements while awaiting issuance of the batch certificate from the Bureau;

    "impartial third party body" means a neutral, governmental or non-governmental body possessing the necessary competence, resource and reliability to test and certify, products for conformity to the requirements of Tanzania Standards or other designated international or foreign standard.

PART II
APPLICATION FOR BATCH CERTIFICATE (regs 3-9)

3.    Application for batch certificate

    (1) Any importer of products covered by compulsory Tanzania standards shall, at least one week before the arrival of their import shipment, apply to the Bureau for the batch certificate.

    (2) An application made under subregulation (1) shall be made in the prescribed forms obtainable from the Bureau or the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

    (3) The applicant shall in making an application under this regulation, submit to the Bureau the application forms in triplicate together with the documents listed below:

    (a)    packing list;

    (b)    the port entry;

    (c)    invoice;

    (d)    Bill of Lading or Airway Bill;

    (e)    clean report of findings from competent authority of the exporting country, if available; and

    (f)    test certificate from the country of origin as issued by the National standards body thereof, or its recognized testing authority in that country establishing conformity of the import shipment to the requirements of the Tanzania Standards, or the Bureau's recognized international or foreign standard.

    (4) Where the products covered by the Compulsory Tanzania Standards include foods and food products, the test certificate under paragraph (f) of subregulation (3) shall indicate that the foods or food products are consumable in their country of origin.

4.    Sampling of products

    (1) An import shipment or consignment shall be sampled by the Inspector and evaluated by the Bureau's duly authorized personnel to determine its compliance with the requirements of the applicable Tanzania standards or the Bureau's recognized international or foreign standards.

    (2) Notwithstanding subregulation (1), where bilateral agreement has been signed between the Bureau and the exporting country's National Standard's Body or recognized accredited laboratory abroad to do the inspection and evaluation on behalf of the Bureau, the Bureau shall issue a batch certificate to the importer without collecting samples for further evaluation.

5.    Randomly picked up samples

    (1) Where shipments have been certified abroad under subregulation (2) of regulation 4, random samples may be taken from the shipment or after release of the shipment and retested by the Bureau.

    (2) Where the randomly picked up samples of the imported shipment reveal inconsistencies of the quality of the actual imported products with the test certificates issued in the country of origin, all further subsequent shipments of these products from that country shall be subjected to individual shipment sampling and testing by the Bureau, regardless of the certification abroad.

    (3) Individual sampling and testing under subregulation (2) shall continue until such a time that consistent quality of the test certificates issued by the country of origin is re-established to the satisfaction of the Bureau.

    (4) Where the importer fails to re-establish quality of the test certificates issued by the country of origin to the satisfaction of the Bureau, the bilateral agreement may be terminated and the Bureau shall carry out all inspections, sampling and testing of all the products from the country.

6.    Guidelines

    (1) The Bureau may, in tight supply situations, issue separate guidelines relating to the implementation of the Batch certification for the products.

    (2) The guidelines, issued under subregulation (1), shall have concurrence with the respective industry, importers, the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry Agriculture and the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

7.    The tbs. standards mark

    Where products imported into Tanzania are manufactured by foreign companies licenced to use the tbs. standards mark by the Bureau, the manufacturer of such products shall not be required to apply for a batch certificate.

8.    Issuance of batch certificates

    (1) Where the imported commodity complies with the requirements of the applicable Tanzania standard or the Bureau's recognized international or foreign standard, the Bureau shall issue a batch certificate on a per shipment or consignment basis as may be revealed on the bill of lading or way bill.

    (2) The batch certificate issued under subregulation (1) shall be duly signed and sealed by the Director of the Bureau or any other officer appointed by the Director.

9.    Products below standard

    (1) No person shall in any manner unload for the Tanzania market any commodities or products not conforming to the requirements of the Tanzania standards or the commodity or product or which no batch certificate has been issued by the Bureau.

    (2) Any product or commodity which does not conform with the requirement of the Tanzania standard may be re-exported to their countries of origin or disposed of within the United Republic of Tanzania.

    (3) The disposal of the commodities under subregulation (2) shall take cognisance of the environment.

    (4) An importer or agents whose commodities or products are subject to re-exportation or disposal under subregulation (2) shall bear the costs for re-exportation or disposal of the products as the case may be.

PART III
ISSUANCE OF CONDITIONAL RELEASE CERTIFICATE (reg 10)

10.    Issuance of conditional release certificate

    (1) Where the importer has complied with customs requirements and if a hundred percent (100%) inspection and testing of the shipment is needed, and completion of tests will take more than twenty working days, due to the nature of testing specifications and procedure, the Bureau may issue a conditional release certificate of an import shipment from customs custody.

    (2) No person shall, pending the issuance of the batch certificate, distribute, sell, use or transfer the shipment or consignment either in part or in whole to any person or any place other than the address specified in the conditional release certificate.

PART IV
DISPOSITION OF SAMPLES (reg 11)

11.    Disposition of samples

    (1) The Bureau shall for a period of two weeks after the issuance of the batch certificate, retain all remaining samples drawn from a shipment after the necessary conformity test.

    (2) The importer or owner of the samples retained under subregulation (1) shall be required to collect the samples from the Bureau after the expiry of two weeks from the date of issuance of the batch certificate.

    (3) Where the importer fails to collect the samples after the due date as required under subregulation (2) the Bureau shall have power to dispose of the samples in accordance with the standing procedure of the Bureau.

PART V
FEES AND PENALTIES (regs 12-13)

12.    Chargeable fees

    (1) An importer or his agent shall have the duty to pay fees to the Bureau.

    (2) The fees charged under subregulation (1) shall include:

    (a)    a non-refundable application fee payable upon filing the application forms;

    (b)    transport, board and lodging costs of the Bureau's inspectors during the inspection and sampling of the shipment;

    (c)    testing fees which include all expenses pertaining to testing of samples by the Bureau or any other accredited laboratory as clearly recalled in the schedule of fees available from the Bureau; and

    (d)    batch certificate fee or fees equivalent to 0.2 percent of the Cost and Freight ("C" and "F") value which covers guaranteed costs as well as random market surveillance samples after release of the consignment to the market.

13.    General penalty

    Any person who contravenes any of these regulations commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years. {/mprestriction}