Energy Efficiency Standards Tanzania: MEPS and QR-Code Labels for Cookers from 17 November and Fridges, TVs and Motors from 8 December 2026

This news brief explains the energy efficiency standards Tanzania importers, distributors, retailers and assemblers must meet, the Government Notices behind them, the PVoC route, penalties under the Standards Act, Cap. 130, and the separate position in Zanzibar.

What changed?

On Monday 26 October 2026, the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) briefed journalists in Dar es Salaam on enforcement dates for appliance energy rules. The Daily News report of 28 October 2026 quotes Nickonia Mwambene, Acting Director of Standards Development, and standards officer Spiradson Kagaba.

• Phase 1, 17 November 2026. Electric pressure cookers, rice cookers and induction cookers.
• Phase 2, 8 December 2026. Electric motors, refrigerators, fans, televisions and air conditioners.
• Labels. Regulated appliances must carry an energy-efficiency label with a QR code that buyers and inspectors can check against the TBS database.
• Grace period. TBS described a 60-day period under the Standards Act for importers, manufacturers and distributors to prepare.

The Citizen reported the same briefing on 27 October 2026. Earlier, The Citizen of 7 April 2026 reported that restrictions on importing and distributing inefficient appliances would start from July 2026. That timetable slipped to the dates above.

The programme has been building for a year. TBS opened its energy-efficiency testing laboratories in October 2025, as the Daily News reported on 20 October 2025. TBS trained manufacturers, importers and retailers on the cooking-appliance standards in August 2026, according to its own news release.

Who is affected by the energy efficiency standards?

• Importers. Anyone bringing the eight appliance types into Mainland Tanzania for sale, including wholesalers who import in containers and traders who consolidate small lots.
• Distributors and wholesalers. Anyone holding stock for resale. Under the Act, "sell" includes keeping goods for sale.
• Retailers and online sellers. Shops, supermarkets and marketplace sellers that offer regulated appliances to the public after the effective dates.
• Local assemblers and manufacturers. Factories that assemble fans, motors, refrigerators or cookers from kits. A compulsory standard binds local and imported goods alike.
• Procurement teams. Hotels, hospitals, schools and contractors buying motors, air conditioners and refrigeration in bulk should specify compliant, labelled units.

Our guide to TBS certification and the standards mark covers the wider product-certification regime that sits alongside these rules.

What the law says about compulsory standards

The governing law is the Standards Act, Cap. 130 R.E. 2023, published by the Office of the Solicitor General. It re-enacts the Standards Act, 2009 (Act No. 2 of 2009). We read the R.E. 2023 text for the section numbers below.

The "60-day grace period" TBS describes is this notice period. A 2023 notice declaring compulsory standards, made under the same section, took effect sixty days after publication. The new notices appear to follow that pattern.

Which Government Notices apply?

We read the indexes of the Government Gazette published on the Government Gazette page of the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman. Three notices under the Standards Act declare compulsory standards this autumn.

The CLASP policy database, updated in September 2026, records GN No. 277 of 2026 as compulsory MEPS for electric pressure cookers, rice cookers and induction cookers. The 18 September gazette also lists GN No. 276 of 2026, a declaration of national (voluntary) standards.

The phase 1 date is exactly sixty days after the 18 September gazette. The phase 2 date is exactly sixty days after the 9 October gazette. That makes GN No. 294 of 2026 the likely phase 2 instrument. We have not read its schedule, so treat that link as unconfirmed. We also could not read the TZS standard numbers in either schedule; the gazette indexes print titles only.

Which appliances are covered, and from when?

Two points need care. First, the phase 2 product list comes from one press report of the briefing; we found no TBS circular that lists it. Second, a secondary report placed air conditioners in the wider programme without a clear phase. Ask TBS to confirm the phase for your exact product and HS code in writing.

Freezers, chest coolers, steam irons and water heaters are not on the reported lists. A 2025 Guardian report of 16 October 2025 mentioned steam irons in the Ministry of Energy's plan, so later notices may add products.

What must importers, distributors, retailers and assemblers do?

Keep records for each model: supplier name, model number, test report, label image and the date the stock arrived. That file is the evidence for the statutory defence if an inspector finds a problem in a shop.

Product certification under the standards mark is a separate process. Our guide to product standards certification with TBS explains when a local maker needs the mark as well as the energy label.

How do energy labels and QR codes work?

TBS told the briefing that every regulated appliance must carry an energy-efficiency label with a QR code. Scanning the code should show the product's details in the TBS database, so an inspector or buyer can tell a genuine label from a copy.

The label design itself is not yet published in a form we could read. The Ministry of Energy described a five-star scale, with five stars the most efficient, in October 2025. A process review for Modern Energy Cooking Services, dated 17 March 2025, describes star-rated labels for rice cookers, pressure cookers and induction cookers, with energy use shown in local language. Treat both as indications until TBS publishes the final label specification.

Practical points for importers:

• Ask the factory to print the Tanzanian label, not an EU, Kenyan or Chinese energy label.
• Confirm with TBS how a model is entered into its database before shipment, so the QR code resolves on arrival.
• Keep the label on the product and the packaging until sale; a missing label invites a stop order.

How does PVoC apply to regulated appliances?

Electrical appliances generally fall within the TBS pre-shipment verification of conformity programme. Under the TBS Guideline for the PVoC Programme 2025, an inspection body in the country of supply checks goods against Tanzanian standards and issues a Certificate of Conformity before shipment. Once a standard is compulsory, the inspection body should test against it. Ask your inspection body in writing whether its test covers the new MEPS requirement.

The PVoC fee is paid to the contracted inspection body. TBS charges at the port are paid against a GePG control number. Our guide to PVoC and TBS import conformity explains routes and inspection bodies, and our import documents pack lists the papers customs expects. The Certificate of Conformity is then attached to the customs entry in TANCIS; see our TANCIS import declaration guide.

A small-consignment exemption is not an exemption from the standard. Goods exempted from PVoC must still comply with the compulsory standard when sold.

What happens to stock already in Tanzania?

Section 20(6) bars the sale of a non-compliant commodity after the effective date. It does not say when the goods were imported. On the statutory wording, a refrigerator landed in November but sold after 8 December 2026 must comply.

A secondary report of the briefing says TBS does not intend to apply the rules retrospectively to completed transactions, and that this is not a blanket exemption. TBS also urged importers with orders placed before the announcement to make sure those consignments comply before the grace period ends. We found no published transition rule for unsold stock.

• Count stock now. List each non-compliant model and its quantity at every warehouse and shop.
• Sell through or relabel. Sell old units before the date, or test and label compliant models.
• Ask TBS in writing. Request a written position on any sell-through period, citing the model numbers and quantities.
• Do not ship to Zanzibar as a workaround. Zanzibar has its own standards body and import checks.

What are the penalties under the Standards Act?

Selling a non-compliant commodity after the effective date is an offence under section 20(8). Section 20 states no specific penalty, so the general penalty applies. The figures below come from the R.E. 2023 text.

Directors and managers can be liable for a company's offence unless they show they did not know of it. Regulations made under the Act may carry their own penalties. Any charge, compounding offer, seizure or confiscation order should go to an advocate before you respond.

Does the rule apply in Zanzibar?

Not directly. TBS and the Standards Act, Cap. 130, operate on the Mainland. Zanzibar has its own law, the Zanzibar Standards Act, 2011, administered by the Zanzibar Bureau of Standards (ZBS). Zanzibar also runs its own PVoC contract: SGS announced on 10 September 2025 a new three-year PVoC contract with ZBS, effective 1 September 2025.

Goods landed in Zanzibar and moved to the Mainland meet Mainland rules when sold there. A trader supplying both markets should ask ZBS in writing whether it will adopt the same MEPS and label, and keep that answer on file.

Worked example: 500 rice cookers and 200 refrigerators

Mfano Appliances Ltd is a hypothetical importer in Dar es Salaam. It orders 500 rice cookers and 200 refrigerators from one factory. Prices are illustrative: USD 18 FOB a rice cooker and USD 210 FOB a refrigerator.

One shipment, one certificate. Under Route A (F0355) the fee is 0.50% of FOB: 0.50% of USD 51,000 is USD 255. That is above the USD 250 minimum, so the fee is USD 255.

Two separate shipments. Rice cookers alone give USD 45, so the USD 250 minimum applies. Refrigerators alone give USD 210, so the minimum applies again. The total is USD 500. Consolidating saves USD 245 in fees.

Testing. Energy performance testing is outside the route fee (F0358). The inspection body quotes it per model. Budget it separately and ask whether one test report can cover identical models.

Arriving without a certificate. The penalty is 15% of invoice value (F0359): 15% of USD 51,000 is USD 7,650. TBS then adds the destination inspection fee of TZS 100,000 (F0360), physical verification of TZS 180,000 (F0362) and testing (F0364). If the refrigerators then fail the MEPS test, USD 42,000 of stock cannot be sold.

Customs charges on top. The customs processing fee is 0.6% of FOB (F0311): USD 306. With an illustrative CIF value of USD 56,000, the railway development levy at 2% (F0309) is USD 1,120. Import duty and VAT depend on the HS code and are assessed in TANCIS. Our guide to import duty, VAT and excise works through that stack.

Timing. If the container lands on 1 December 2026, the rice cookers are already under phase 1 and must comply. The refrigerators land before phase 2, but any unit sold from 8 December must comply too. The safe course is to certify both lines before shipment.

USD and TZS amounts are kept apart and not converted. Each government charge is paid at the official rate against the authority's control number or the inspection body's invoice.

What to do now

1. Map your products. List every model of the eight appliance types you import, assemble or sell, with HS codes and the phase each falls in.
2. Get the standards. Ask TBS for the TZS standard numbers and schedules in GN No. 277 and the phase 2 notice, and buy the standards documents.
3. Brief your suppliers. Send factories the Tanzanian MEPS limits and label specification, and require test reports before production.
4. Book PVoC early. Confirm with the inspection body that its Certificate of Conformity covers the energy performance standard for each model.
5. Register labels. Confirm how each model enters the TBS database so the QR code resolves when an inspector scans it.
6. Clear old stock. Sell through, test or return non-compliant units before 17 November or 8 December 2026, and ask TBS in writing about any transition.
7. Train shop staff. Teach staff to check the label and scan the QR code before display.
8. Check Zanzibar separately. Ask ZBS in writing whether the same rules apply to goods sold on Unguja and Pemba.

Key dates and deadlines

How Zatra helps

Our import and export compliance desk maps products to HS codes and compulsory standards, coordinates PVoC with inspection bodies, and prepares the document file for TBS and TRA. Where a new trading line also needs an importation business licence or sector permit, our business licensing team handles that file.

Costs come in two separate buckets. PVoC fees, TBS charges, duties and levies are paid at the official rate to the inspection body or against the authority's control number. Zatra's professional fee is quoted on its own line and never mixed with them.

Zatra prepares and coordinates, but does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. Prosecution, seizure or confiscation, disputes with TBS and formal legal opinions go to an advocate.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 29 October 2026.

• TBS warns traders ahead of new energy-efficiency rules: Daily News, 28 Oct 2026. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Tanzania tightens appliance standards to curb power waste: The Citizen, 27 Oct 2026; and restricting inefficient appliance imports: The Citizen, 7 Apr 2026. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Government Gazette indexes, 18 Sep 2026 (GN No. 276 and 277), 25 Sep 2026 (GN No. 280) and 9 Oct 2026 (GN No. 294): Office of the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• GN No. 277 of 2026 record: CLASP policy database, updated Sep 2026. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Standards Act, Cap. 130 R.E. 2023: Office of the Solicitor General e-library; ss.4, 20, 51, 53 and 56 read. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Guideline for PVoC Programme 2025: TBS. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• TBS equips businesses on electric cooking standards: TBS, Aug 2026. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Govt new energy rules shake up appliance market: Daily News, 20 Oct 2025; and Electronic appliance imports set for checks: The Guardian, 16 Oct 2025. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• MEPS Tanzania: a process review: Modern Energy Cooking Services, 17 Mar 2025. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Zanzibar renews PVoC contract: SGS, 10 Sep 2025. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.
• Zatra fee register, fees at 26 Sep 2026; line IDs as cited in the text. Accessed 29 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• Phase 2 notice: that GN No. 294 of 2026 is the instrument for motors, refrigerators, fans, televisions and air conditioners
• GN No. 280 of 2026: which products it declares compulsory and from when
• Standard numbers: the TZS numbers and MEPS limits in each schedule, which we could not read
• Air conditioners: the phase, which rests on one press report of the briefing
• Label: the final TBS label design, star scale and QR database registration process
• Old stock: any written TBS position on a sell-through period
• PVoC scope: whether each inspection body's certificate covers the MEPS test, and its testing charge
• Zanzibar: whether ZBS will adopt the same standards and labels

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.