Sunflower Oil Processing Tanzania: Industrial Licence, TBS Certification, COPRA, Vitamin A, VAT, Export Tax and a Costed Mill

This guide maps every licence, standard and tax for sunflower oil processing in Tanzania, from the crushing shed to the refinery, with the Zanzibar rules and a costed 1,000 tonne mill.

What the law says about sunflower oil processing

No single Tanzanian statute licenses an oil mill. A sunflower processor answers to at least eight instruments on the Mainland, each run by a different authority.

• The industries law. The National Industries (Licensing and Registration) Act, 1967, now Cap. 46, defines an industry as a factory employing ten or more workers on any day (s.2). Section 6(1) bars anyone from establishing an industry without registration.
• The licensing law. The Business Licensing Act, Cap. 101 R.E. 2023 requires a Class A licence from BRELA or a Class B licence from the council for processing and manufacturing.
• The food law. The Finance Act, 2019 moved food regulation from the old TFDA to the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) from 1 July 2019. It inserted ss.21A and 26A into the Standards Act, Cap. 130, and renamed TFDA as TMDA, confined to medicines and devices.
• The edible oil trade rules. The Food Security (Administration of Edible Oil) Regulations, 2026, GN No. 91, published on 3 April 2026 under s.42 of the Food Security Act, Cap. 249, bring processors, importers and exporters of edible oil under COPRA.
• Fortification. The Food Fortification Regulations, 2011, GN No. 205 of 2011, made under the old food law, set the original fortification regime. TBS launched new food fortification regulations dated 2024 in 2025.
• Measurement. The Weights and Measures Act, Cap. 340 requires trade scales to carry a verification stamp (ss.21 and 35) and pre-packed goods to show net quantity (s.26).
• Environment and safety. The Environmental Management Act, Cap. 191 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Cap. 297 apply to every mill.
• Tax at the border. The Export Tax Act, Cap. 196 taxes crude sunflower oil, sunflower seed and sunflower cake leaving the country. The EAC Common External Tariff, with a Tanzanian stay, sets duty on imported oils.

Zanzibar runs its own food and standards regime, covered below.

Who should read this

• Small crushers in Singida, Dodoma, Manyara and Mbeya pressing seed into crude oil and cake;
• Refiners buying crude oil from small mills and double-refining it for bottling;
• Investors sizing an integrated crushing and refining plant, local or foreign;
• Traders and exporters of seed, crude oil or cake;

How big is the edible oil gap?

The Ministry of Industry and Trade's 2024/25 budget speech to Parliament (para. 36) gave these figures:

• demand above 600,000 tonnes of edible oil a year;
• local output of about 205,000 tonnes, of which 180,000 tonnes was sunflower oil;
• imports of about 395,000 tonnes;
• 789 edible oil plants, 17 large and medium and 772 small;
• small plants running at about 20% of capacity and large plants at 25% to 40%, for lack of quality seed.

The Daily News reported on 3 August 2026 that the Minister for Agriculture, Daniel Chongolo, put demand at about 732,974 tonnes, local output at 305,905 tonnes and the deficit at 427,068 tonnes. He put imports at more than USD 200 million a year.

The gap is a seed problem more than a demand problem, which is why the Government taxes seed and crude oil exports and protects local refiners.

Which approvals does each part of the business need?

Do you need an industrial licence or a business licence?

Usually both. The Cap. 46 certificate records the factory. Our guide to the Cap. 46 industrial licence explains the split by fixed investment: smaller projects get a certificate of registration and larger ones an industrial licence. BRELA charges by fixed investment: TZS 10,000 under TZS 5 million, TZS 50,000 to TZS 10 million, TZS 100,000 to TZS 50 million, TZS 500,000 to TZS 100 million and TZS 800,000 above that (register F0110).

The business licence authorises trading from the premises. Processing and manufacturing sits in the Cap. 101 Schedule at three sizes:

Ownership narrows the choice. GN No. 487A of 2025 closes micro and small industries to non-citizens (NEW-08-14, item 15). A foreign-owned crusher must therefore be medium or large. On-farm crop purchasing is also reserved to citizens (item 13), so a foreign miller buys seed through local aggregators or AMCOS rather than from farm gates. Each licence runs 12 months, and renewal needs a TRA tax clearance (NEW-08-01, NEW-08-02). Our business licensing service files both classes.

Which TBS standards and certification apply to sunflower oil?

TBS regulates food on the Mainland, so the processor deals with TBS twice: once for the building and once for the product.

• Premises. Section 26A of the Standards Act bars manufacturing, storing or selling food on unregistered premises.
• Product. Section 21A requires pre-packaged food to be registered. Our TBS certification guide walks through sampling, testing and the mark licence.

The TBS list of compulsory standards as of October 2025 includes four that a sunflower business meets:

TBS does not publish its certification and premises fees, and the register shows none (F0365). Ask TBS for a written assessment. Testing costs at an accredited laboratory are extra. Our guide to food business licensing explains why TMDA only returns to the file when a label makes a medicinal claim.

Is vitamin A fortification of sunflower oil compulsory?

For refined oil sold in packs, plan on yes. The legal picture has three layers.

• 2011. GN No. 205 of 2011 set the first fortification rules. Bioanalyt, a fortification testing firm, reported on 7 October 2025 that these rules made vitamin A fortification of edible oil mandatory for large producers and at first exempted small and medium ones.
• 2024 regulations. The Daily News reported on 11 September 2025 that TBS unveiled 2024 food fortification regulations covering packaged maize flour, wheat flour, cooking oil and salt. It reported that fortification would be a condition of product registration and certification. We did not find the Government Notice number.
• 2026 enforcement. On 14 August 2026 the Daily News reported vitamin A premix handed to the Tanzania Sunflower Processors Association (TASUPA). Refining and fortification machines were installed in Dodoma, Singida and Mbeya. TBS would educate producers before taking legal action.

In practice, a refiner selling bottled oil should dose vitamin A to TZS 1313:2020, keep premix and dosing records, and test each batch. A crusher selling crude oil to a refinery is different, because fortification happens at the refinery; Bioanalyt reported that about 80% of TASUPA's 800-plus members press crude oil only. Confirm the dose and the GN number with TBS before printing labels.

What does COPRA require from an edible oil processor?

GN No. 91 of 2026 defines a trader to include anyone procuring, processing, importing, exporting, distributing or selling edible oil, crude or refined (reg. 2). So a mill is a trader.

• Registration. Apply on Form No. 1 with the incorporation certificate, business licence and TIN (reg. 3). Domestic traders qualify at 30 tonnes or TZS 50 million of annual turnover; importers and exporters register regardless.
• Purchase permit. A trader applies on Form No. 6 and declares its buying areas (reg. 11).
• Storage. Tanks or stores of 5 tonnes or more are registered and need an operating permit, and the holder files stock statistics after every receipt or release (regs 14 and 15).
• Prices. Regulation 13 obliges traders to sell at prices the Authority sets from time to time.
• Imports and exports. Every consignment needs a permit with the Minister's prior approval. An import permit issues only when demand exceeds supply, and an export permit only when demand is met (regs 5 and 6). Import applicants show proof of domestic purchases and of owning a refinery or factory.
• Penalty. A breach carries a fine of at least TZS 5,000,000, one to three years in prison, or both (reg. 20).

The regulations print no fees, and the register has no COPRA edible oil line, so ask COPRA. Our COPRA registration guide covers the general produce dealer file.

When does an oil mill need NEMC, OSHA and WMA?

NEMC. Edible oil plants pay an annual environmental fee of TZS 1,500,000 under GN No. 387 of 2021 (register F0509). The same line charges small mills TZS 150,000, and NEMC decides which rate fits a small sunflower press. The fees regulations sit beside the EIA screening, which fixes whether a project brief or a full study is needed. See when an EIA is required and our guide to factory waste and effluent permits.

OSHA. Workplace registration has been free since 1 July 2018 under GN No. 719 of 2018 (NEW-04-40). The annual inspection fee for manufacturing is TZS 80,000, 240,000, 480,000 or 720,000 for micro, small, medium and large workplaces (F0442). See which workplaces OSHA registers.

WMA. Weighbridges, platform scales and filling machines used for trade must carry a verification stamp no older than a year (Cap. 340 s.38). Pre-packed oil must state its net quantity. Verification fees under GN No. 288 of 2019 are not in the register (NEW-03-34). Our guide to weights and measures verification lists the instruments.

How is sunflower oil taxed?

VAT. The standard rate is 18% on the Mainland (F0239). The Finance Act has for several years exempted double-refined edible oil made locally from locally grown seed. Clyde & Co reported on 3 July 2026 that the Finance Act, 2026 extended the exemption for one year to 30 June 2027. EY's 17 July 2026 alert reports the same extension. We have not read the 2026 Act's text, so treat the expiry date as one to confirm.

On these reports, crude oil and oil from imported crude or seed fall outside the exemption and are standard-rated. An exempt seller charges no VAT but cannot reclaim input VAT, and a refiner with taxable sales apportions its input tax.

Income tax and levies. Companies pay 30% corporate tax (F0196). The council service levy is 0.25% of turnover net of VAT (F0283). Councils may charge produce cess on seed purchases up to 3% of the farm-gate price, and may not tax sellers or seeds (F0547, NEW-05-27). See produce cess and service levy.

What export tax applies to sunflower seed, crude oil and cake?

Section 24 of the Finance Act, 2024 added items 4 and 5 to the Export Tax Act Schedule, taxing crude sunflower oil and sunflower seed at ten percent of FOB value. The Finance Act, 2026 added sunflower cake at TZS 50 per kg with cotton cake and three brans (F0338). Refined oil leaves tax-free; the raw material and the half-finished product do not.

Exports also need a COPRA permit, a phytosanitary certificate for seed and an export licence. Our guide to export levies and charges lists the rest.

Why does the import duty stay protect local millers?

The EAC Common External Tariff is set jointly, but each partner state may apply a stay. For 2026/27 Tanzania's stay, in Legal Notice No. EAC/160/2026 of 30 June 2026, sets the rates below (register NEW-03-05):

• refined edible oils, including refined sunflower oil (1512.19.00): 35% or USD 300 per tonne, whichever is higher;
• crude soya, groundnut, coconut, rapeseed, mustard and linseed oils: 10%;
• crude palm oil (1511.10.00): 10% instead of the CET 0%.

The PKF digest of the 11 June 2026 budget speech shows the crude oils moving from 0% to 10% for one year and the refined rate gaining the USD 300 floor.

Three effects follow for a local miller:

• The floor bites on cheap oil. At a declared value of USD 700 a tonne, 35% is USD 245, so the USD 300 floor applies.
• Refining moves onshore. A 35% gap between refined and crude oil rewards refining in Tanzania rather than importing bottled oil.
• Crude palm oil pays something. The 10% duty on crude palm oil narrows the advantage of imported crude over local sunflower crude. Ecofin Agency reported on 12 June 2026 that the change targeted semi-refined palm oil declared as crude.

Imports still need a COPRA permit (GN No. 91 of 2026, reg. 5). Customs charges add the Railway Development Levy of 2% of customs value (F0309) and the Customs Processing Fee of 0.6% of FOB (F0311). Imported oil also passes TBS conformity checks; see PVoC and TBS import conformity.

How does Zanzibar differ from the Mainland?

Food safety and standards are not Union matters. TBS registration and the Standards Act do not run in Unguja and Pemba.

A Mainland TBS certificate does not register a Zanzibar plant or product. ZFDA describes itself as regulating the safety and quality of food in Zanzibar. See our guides to ZFDA, Zanzibar VAT and Union and non-Union taxes.

Worked example: a 1,000 tonne sunflower refinery in Singida

This example is hypothetical. A Tanzanian-owned company builds a crushing and double-refining plant in Singida with a fixed investment of TZS 450 million and 60 workers. It buys 3,000 tonnes of seed a year through registered aggregators and sells fortified bottled oil in Mainland shops.

The output line uses illustrative figures. A 35% oil yield after refining losses gives about 1,000 tonnes of oil and 1,800 tonnes of cake. At 0.92 kg a litre that is about 1,087,000 litres. At an assumed ex-factory price of TZS 6,000 a litre, oil revenue is about TZS 6,522,000,000. Cake sold locally at an assumed TZS 600 a kg brings TZS 1,080,000,000. Turnover is TZS 7,602,000,000.

Priced charges come to about 0.29% of turnover. If the VAT exemption for double-refined local oil holds, the plant charges no VAT on oil and cannot reclaim VAT on its inputs.

Export changes the picture. Exporting the 1,800 tonnes of cake would cost TZS 90,000,000 in export tax at TZS 50 a kg (F0338). Selling 1,000 tonnes of crude oil abroad at an assumed FOB of USD 1,100 a tonne would cost USD 110,000 at 10% (F0335). Refining and selling at home avoids both.

All of these charges are paid by the client to each authority at the official rate against its GePG control number. They are separate from Zatra's professional fee, which is quoted in writing after scoping. Our note on professional fees and government fees explains the split.

What to do now

1. Define the model. Decide whether you crush only, refine only or do both, because fortification, VAT and COPRA duties follow that choice.
2. Secure seed supply. Contract aggregators or AMCOS before buying machinery, since mills run at 20% to 40% of capacity for lack of seed.
3. Register the factory. File the Cap. 46 registration or licence with BRELA and take the right class of business licence.
4. Open the TBS file. Register the premises, then certify the oil against TZS 50:2025 and, for refined oil, TZS 1313:2020.
5. Register with COPRA. File Form No. 1, the purchase permit and storage registration for tanks of 5 tonnes or more.
6. Clear NEMC and OSHA. Lodge the project for EIA screening, pay the annual fee and register the workplace before start-up.
7. Stamp the scales. Have WMA verify weighbridges and filling lines, and print net quantity on every pack.
8. Confirm the tax position. Check the VAT exemption wording and expiry with TRA, and price exports net of the export tax.
9. Call an advocate on enforcement. Get advice before signing any statement after a seizure, a closure order or a COPRA prosecution.

Key dates

How Zatra helps

Zatra's sector permits service maps each stage of a sunflower business to its approval and prepares the BRELA, TBS, COPRA, NEMC, OSHA and WMA files in sequence. The import and export compliance team handles COPRA permits, export tax and customs entries. Sector context sits on our agriculture and trade page, and the government fees handbook lists official figures.

Government charges are paid by the client to each authority at the official rate against its control number. They are kept separate from Zatra's professional fee.

BRELA, TBS, COPRA, NEMC, OSHA, WMA, TRA, the councils and the Zanzibar authorities decide every registration, permit and assessment. Zatra prepares and coordinates the file; it does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. Prosecutions, seizures, closure orders, disputes with an authority or a buyer, and formal legal opinions go to Zatra's advocate.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 28 October 2026. Settled: the Cap. 46 and Cap. 101 duties, TBS control of food since 2019, the compulsory standards, the COPRA edible oil regulations, the export tax on crude oil and seed, and the OSHA and NEMC fees. Verify: the VAT exemption expiry, the 2026/27 EAC stay, the 2024 fortification regulations and the cake export tax. Unknown: TBS, COPRA and WMA fees, and the GN number of the 2024 fortification regulations.

• Finance Act, 2019, Parts VII and VIII: Tanzania Revenue Authority, 2019. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
• Finance Act, 2024, s.24: Tanzania Revenue Authority, assented 30 Jun 2024. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
• GN No. 91 of 2026: COPRA, published 3 Apr 2026. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
• List of compulsory standards: TBS, October 2025. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
• Ministry of Industry and Trade budget speech 2024/25: Parliament of Tanzania, May 2024. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
• GN No. 205 of 2011, Cap. 340, GN No. 719 of 2018 and GN No. 387 of 2021: TanzLII. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
• Independent reports (Clyde & Co, EY, PKF, Daily News, Bioanalyt, Ecofin), 2025 and 2026: linked in the text. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• VAT exemption: wording in the Finance Act, 2026, the 30 June 2027 expiry and whether single-refined oil qualifies
• EAC stay: the 2026/27 rates in Legal Notice No. EAC/160/2026 for 1512.11 and 1512.19 (NEW-03-05)
• Fortification: the GN number of the 2024 regulations, the vitamin A dose and whether crude-only mills must fortify
• TBS fees: premises registration and product certification, not published (F0365)
• COPRA fees: trader registration, purchase, storage and import or export permits under GN No. 91 of 2026
• WMA fees: verification of weighbridges and filling machines (NEW-03-34)
• NEMC category: whether a small press pays the edible oil rate or the small mill rate (F0509)
• Zanzibar: ZFDA and ZBS fees, and whether Cap. 196 export tax is applied at Zanzibar ports
• Worked example inputs: 35% yield, TZS 6,000 a litre, TZS 600 a kg of cake and USD 1,100 a tonne FOB are assumptions
• Register lines cited: F0110, BLA102, BLA103, BLB137, BLA121, F0882, NEW-08-01, NEW-08-02, NEW-08-14, F0365, F0509, NEW-04-40, F0442, NEW-03-34, F0239, F0196, F0283, F0547, NEW-05-27, F0335, F0338, F0343, NEW-03-05, F0309, F0311, F0246 and NEW-05-07 at 26 September 2026; the control number governs on payment

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.