TRA Motor Vehicle Customs Amnesty: Penalties Waived, Duty Still Due

What TRA announced

On 2 October 2026 the Tanzania Revenue Authority issued a public notice titled Amnesty on Penalties for Motor Vehicles in Contravention of Customs Laws and Procedures. Commissioner General Yusuph Juma Mwenda signed it, and TRA posted it on its public-notice page on 3 October 2026.

The offer is narrow:

• Waived: penalties for the contraventions listed below.
• Still payable: all applicable duties and taxes on the vehicle.
• Condition: the owner reports voluntarily to the nearest TRA office and regularises the vehicle's customs status.
• Deadline: the amnesty remains in force up to 31 December 2026. After that, TRA says it will take appropriate enforcement measures against non-compliant vehicles.

Customs in Tanzania is administered under the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004. Customs is a Union matter, and the notice does not distinguish the Mainland from Zanzibar. If the vehicle is registered in Zanzibar, confirm with TRA's Zanzibar office how regularisation sits with the Zanzibar registration record. The notice refers only to "applicable Customs laws and procedures" and cites no provision. It also speaks only of penalties and does not say whether interest is covered, so ask TRA in writing before you rely on a figure.

What the notice does not say. It does not say that disclosure prevents seizure or forfeiture of the vehicle, or prosecution. That gap matters most for chassis or VIN alteration and fraudulent exit declarations. If your file involves either, take advice from an advocate before you approach TRA, and have the disclosure made through counsel.

The seven contraventions covered

1. Misuse of the Temporary Importation regime.
2. Misdeclaration of year of manufacture or model to reduce duty.
3. Alteration of chassis or VIN identification.
4. Improper application of SADC Rules of Origin.
5. Misuse of tax exemptions.
6. Transit diversion and fraudulent exit declarations.
7. Misclassification or unauthorised alteration of goods.

If a vehicle in your fleet fits one of these, the amnesty lowers the cost of fixing it. It does not remove the duty you should have paid.

Who should look at this

• Companies with vehicle fleets in mining, construction, tourism, agriculture and logistics, especially vehicles bought second-hand where the import history is unknown.
• Holders of exempt status, such as project companies, investors with incentive packages and NGOs, whose vehicles were later used outside the exemption's terms. See our note on capital-goods duty exemptions.
• Foreign contractors and visitors who brought vehicles in under temporary importation and kept them past their permitted use.
• Dealers and importers who relied on SADC origin treatment or a declared model year that may not hold up.
• Buyers doing due diligence on a company or asset purchase that includes vehicles. A customs defect travels with the vehicle.

What to do now

1. Inventory the fleet. List each vehicle with its import entry, registration card, chassis and VIN, purchase documents and any exemption or temporary-import approval.
2. Test each vehicle against the seven categories. Flag gaps between the declared year or model and the physical vehicle, or between the exemption's terms and actual use.
3. Estimate the duty and tax. The amnesty does not reduce them. Build the cash requirement into your fourth-quarter plan.
4. Prepare a short disclosure file before you visit TRA: the facts, the documents and the correction you propose.
5. Use counsel for the serious cases. Where the file involves altered identification or a false exit declaration, have an advocate review it first.
6. Get the outcome in writing. Keep the assessment, the payment receipts and the regularised customs record with the vehicle file.
7. Do not wait for December. Queues and document gaps take time, and the deadline is fixed in the notice.

Key dates

• 2 October 2026: notice dated and signed.
• 3 October 2026: notice published on tra.go.tz.
• 31 December 2026: amnesty ends. After that, TRA says it will enforce.

The Citizen reported on 1 August 2025 that TRA had offered an earlier amnesty for uncustomed vehicles. Do not assume the window will be repeated.

How Zatra helps

Zatra's tax and trade desk builds the vehicle file, tests it against the notice and estimates the duty exposure, so that you approach TRA with a complete position rather than a question. Where a fleet sits inside a wider exposure, our TRA audit and dispute desk handles the correspondence. Our import and export compliance work sets up the declaration controls that stop the problem recurring.

Zatra does not assess duty, and it does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. TRA's assessment decides the amount.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 5 October 2026.

• Amnesty on Penalties for Motor Vehicles in Contravention of Customs Laws and Procedures (public notice, 2 Oct 2026): Tanzania Revenue Authority, 2 Oct 2026 (listed 3 Oct 2026). Accessed 5 Oct 2026.
• TRA public notices index: Tanzania Revenue Authority, 3 Oct 2026. Accessed 5 Oct 2026.
• TRA waives penalties for vehicle customs violations: The Respondents, 4 Oct 2026. Accessed 5 Oct 2026.
• TRA grants tax amnesty for uncustomed vehicles (2025 precedent): The Citizen, 1 Aug 2025. Accessed 5 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• Amnesty deadline 31 December 2026: TRA notice of 2 Oct 2026 (verified 5 Oct 2026)
• Duty and tax amounts per vehicle: TRA assessment at regularisation; not set by the notice
• Interest treatment: Not stated in the notice; confirm with TRA in writing

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.