Tanzania
TZMainland Tanzania requires sellers to issue fiscal receipts and fiscal invoices from Electronic Fiscal Devices or approved Virtual Fiscal Devices that report sales to the Tanzania Revenue Authority, and VAT input credit depends on a valid tax invoice or fiscal receipt.
Guide reviewed .
Invoicing and electronic documents
EFD (Electronic Fiscal Device)
Approved devices that issue fiscal receipts and invoices and transmit sales data to TRA automatically. Types include the Electronic Tax Register, Electronic Fiscal Printer, Electronic Signature Device (which signs invoices produced by a business’s own computer system) and Electronic Fiscal Pump Printer for petrol stations.
Device-issued fiscal receipt or invoice with a unique fiscal identifier · Official source: TRA · E-Fiscal Devices (EFD)
VFD (Virtual Fiscal Device)
A cloud-based software system approved by the Commissioner General that captures, transmits and keeps sales records electronically, serving the same purpose as an EFD. Devices and VFDs are bought from TRA-approved suppliers.
TRA-approved software; no document standard is published on the pages reviewed · Official source: TRA · EFD/VFD suppliers and the obligation to use them
Peppol
Tanzania has no national Peppol Authority, so OpenPeppol acts as the authority. No Peppol use for domestic invoicing was found in the TRA sources reviewed; Peppol delivery does not replace a fiscal receipt or invoice.
Peppol BIS Billing where trading partners agree to use it · Official source: OpenPeppol · Peppol Authorities
Tanzania’s regime is a fiscal-device regime, not an exchange network. What makes an invoice valid for VAT is that it was issued through an EFD or an approved VFD, which report the sale to TRA. A business running its own ERP typically uses an Electronic Signature Device or a VFD from an approved supplier so that the invoices it produces are fiscalised.
A Peppol invoice to a Tanzanian buyer does not replace the fiscal invoice the buyer needs for input credit under the VAT Act. If you send one, make sure it carries the same details as the fiscalised document. Zanzibar has its own VAT law, so check it separately for supplies there.
Legal guide
Fiscal receipts and invoices
Mandatory from TZS 11 million turnoverSection 36 of the Tax Administration Act requires a person who supplies goods or services, or receives payment for them, to issue a fiscal receipt or fiscal invoice using an electronic fiscal device. TRA applies this to persons with annual turnover of TZS 11 million and above. The Commissioner General may publish lists of persons excluded from the requirement; excluded persons issue manual receipts with prescribed particulars. Malfunctions must be reported within 24 hours.
Official source: TRA · Tax Administration Act, Cap. 438 (Revised Edition 2019)VAT · tax invoices and input credit
MandatoryA VAT-registered person must issue a serially numbered tax invoice generated by an electronic fiscal device no later than the day VAT becomes payable (section 86 of the VAT Act, as amended by Act No. 8 of 2019). Input tax may be credited only if the claimant holds a valid tax invoice or fiscal receipt, and not more than six months after its date (section 69).
Official source: TRA · Value Added Tax Act, Cap. 148 (Revised Edition 2019)Non-VAT-registered traders
Phased in by TRAThe second EFD phase, under way since 2013, extends the duty to traders not registered for VAT with turnover of TZS 11 million and above, traders in prime business areas, and selected sectors such as spare parts, hardware, petrol stations, pharmacies and bars and restaurants. TRA registers traders gradually.
Official source: TRA · E-Fiscal Devices (EFD)B2B and B2G · structured e-invoicing
No e-invoicing obligation found in the sources reviewedTRA’s guidance reviewed for this guide covers fiscal devices, fiscal receipts and fiscal invoices. It describes no obligation to exchange structured electronic invoices between businesses or with public bodies.
Official source: TRA · EFD/VFD suppliers and the obligation to use themTerritorial scope
Mainland TanzaniaThe VAT Act applies to Mainland Tanzania; Zanzibar has its own VAT law. TRA allows VAT paid under the Zanzibar VAT law on goods transferred to the mainland to be claimed as input tax if the legal conditions are met. Zanzibar’s receipting rules are not described here.
Official source: TRA · Value Added Tax (VAT)
Timeline
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VAT Act in force
The Value Added Tax Act, 2014 came into operation (GN No. 224 of 2015). It now requires tax invoices to be generated by an electronic fiscal device.
Official source: TRA · Value Added Tax Act, Cap. 148 (Revised Edition 2019) -
Tax Administration Act in force
The Tax Administration Act, 2015 came into operation (GN No. 304 of 2015), including the duty in section 36 to issue fiscal receipts or invoices using an electronic fiscal device.
Official source: TRA · Tax Administration Act, Cap. 438 (Revised Edition 2019)
Peppol in Tanzania
- Directory participants
- Not recorded
- Document families
- Not recorded
Peppol Authority: OpenPeppol.
Peppol Directory data as of .
How to read these numbersDocuments on Peppol
No document-support data has been published for this country.
Registrations over time
No registration history has been published for this country.
Registration dates in the current Directory snapshot.
Participants
No participants are recorded for this country in the Directory snapshot. This does not establish absence from Peppol.