Brela Tanzania – Critical Things You Need to Know

Background

The Business Registration and Licensing Agency is an executive agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Brela Tanzania is responsible for business regulation and administration of the laws, including business name registration, company registration, issuance of industrial licenses, patent grants, as well as service marks and trademark registration. The Government Executive Agencies Act 30 of 1997 established the agency. It was officially launched on December 3, 1999.

Services

Brela Tanzania Registration of Companies

Meaning of the term “Company”

A company refers to any association of at least two individuals or more legally intending to operate a business in line with the provisions contained in the Companies Act.

Company Types

The three major company types are:

Private Companies

Private companies are entities whose articles limit the right to share transfer, the public cannot subscribe to its debenture or shares, and the total number of its members cannot exceed 50.

Based on liabilities, this type of company is sub-divided as follows:

1.1. Private company limited by shares

This type of private company is mandated to have a share clause that members get subscribed to.

1.2. Private company limited by guarantee

Two types of private companies limited by guarantee exist:

1. Private company limited by guarantee without share capital

Mandated to have a guarantee clause where members promise to contribute a specified amount in case of winding up.

2. Private company limited by guarantee with share capital

The members collectively contribute to the indicated share capital.

Public company

These companies have an unlimited number of shareholders. There’s no limit to share subscriptions and transfers. This means that a member is permitted to transfer their shares to any individual, and every member of the general populace is allowed to subscribe.

Foreign Company

These are companies that have a business place in Tanzania but were registered and/or incorporated outside Tanzania.

Unlimited Company

These companies do not have any membership limit, meaning that the members’ liability extends to their personal properties like sole proprietorship or partnership.

Why Should a Company Be Incorporated?

1. To legalize the business and give it legal capacity
2. Easy recognition by financial institutions like banks during the account opening process
3. Easy access to grants and loans from financial bodies, including banks
4. To efficiently promote the business and expand its customer base.
5. To expand business operations beyond the shores of Tanzania.

Brela Tanzania Requirements for Incorporation of Local Companies

1. Applicants must have their NIN or the passport number for non-Tanzanians
2. Each shareholder must possess the NIN
3. Each local director must have their Tax Identification Number and passport number or NIN from the National Identification Authority for a foreigner.

Instruments to Submit

1. The consolidated form
2. The ethics form/integrity pledge
3. The articles and memorandum of association.

Foreign company

1. A list of that includes the company secretary and present directors with their full particulars
2. Copy of the latest yearly accounts and related company reports. If the said documents are not written in English, there must be a translated copy
3. A certified duplicate of the Articles and Memorandum of Association, Charter, Statutes, or other instruments that define the company’s constitution that is written in English or a certified translation if the original isn’t written in English.
4. Copy of the incorporation certificate certified by the appropriate authority in the originating country or its High Commission/Embassy in Tanzania
5. The addresses and names of at least one person living in Tanzania authorized to accept service on the company’s behalf and any document needed to be served thereon and represent the company as the permanent representative for the business place
6. A statutory declaration made by a Secretary or Director of the company indicating the date on which the company opened a business place in Tanzania, the business they want to do and the name under which the business is done if it’s different from the registered one.
7.  A statement of all current charges the company created in line with Section 99 of the Companies Act and not consisting of properties located outside Tanzania
8. The principal’s full address or the company’s registered office in the country of origin and the full address of the business place in Tanzania.

Brela Tanzania; Stages of Incorporation

1. Visit “ors.brela.go.tz” or “www.brela.go.tz”
2. Log in to the Online Registration System account if you have one. If not, create one
3. Click on “New e-service.”
4. Select new company
5. Proceed to “Service type.”
6. Click on “Registration of a new company” and select “proceed.”
7. Select “company type” and click “proceed.”
8. Complete the next task by filling in all the required details displayed on the system
9. Click proceed when you finish the “prepare e-application” stage
10. Upload the attachments required (Articles and Memorandum of Association, Consolidated Form, and Ethics Form/Integrity Pledge Form signed and dated)
11. Pay for the service via bank or mobile money transfer
12. Click “refresh” after paying
13. Your application will be processed once the payment is made and received.

Remember to always click “save” anytime you insert new information into the system.

Registration of Business Names

Meaning of the term “Business Name”

A business name refers to the name or style under which businesses are operated, whether individually or as a partnership (more than one person).

Advantages of Registering Business Names

1. To prevent another entity from using the name/To secure the name for your business
2. To confer legal recognition/capacity on the name
3. Recognition by financial bodies like banks during the account opening process
4. Seamless access to grants and loans from financial bodies like banks
5. To seamlessly promote the business and expand the customer base.

Brela Tanzania; Requirements for Registering a Business Name

1. The owner has to be a citizen of Tanzania
2. The proposed name must be legally accepted
3. The owner must be 18 years and above
4. The owner must have a NIN
5. The owner must have a phone number registered in their names
6. The owner should have an email address
7. The address of the intended business place must be provided
8. The home address of the owner(s) e,g House, Block, and Plot Numbers

Stages of Business Name Registration

1. Visit “ors.brela.go.tz” or “www.brela.go.tz”
2. Log in to the Online Registration System account if you have one. If not, create one
3. Click on “New e-service.”
4. Select “Business Name”
5. Proceed to “Service Type”
6. Click “Registration of new business name,” then press “Proceed.”
7. Select “Individual” if the business is a sole proprietorship, “Partners” if there is more than one owner, and “Corporation” if the name will belong to a legal entity, i.e., a statutory body or company
8. Click “proceed”
9. Complete the next task by filling in all the required details displayed on the system
10. Click proceed when you finish the “prepare e-application” stage
11. Upload the attachment required (the consolidated form duly signed and dated)
12. Pay for the service via bank or mobile money transfer
13. Click “refresh” after paying
14. Your application will be processed once the payment is made and received. 

Remember to always click “save” anytime you insert new information into the system.

Registration of Service Marks and Trademarks

Meaning of Service Marks and Trademarks

A mark is a distinguishing sign that serves to differentiate similar services and goods of a business from those of other businesses.

Benefits of Marks Protection

1. To make the service/product’s market information more accurate.
2. Promotes brand competition which makes higher quality service/goods available in the market.
3. Maintains the association between the service/product and the trademark
4. Recognizes the commercial origin of services and products
5. Builds consumers’ confidence and the development of top-class industries

Prerequisites for Registering Trademarks and Service Marks

1. The applicant must be a registered citizen of Tanzania and provide a National ID card.
2. The applicant and every individual included has to provide a cellphone number and an email address via the Brela Tanzania website.

Attachments

1. Form 1 for application to be completed by Agent
2. Consolidated mark
3. Picture of the mark

Brela Tanzania Registration Fees

1. Registration + maintenance fee (65,000)
2. Publication fee in the journal (15,000)
3. Application fee (50,000)

How to Apply for  Trademark and Service Mark Registration Certificate Online (via ORS)

1. Log on to the website of BRELA www.brela.go.tz or go directly to http://ors.brela.go.tz/ors
2. Log in to your Online Registration System account if you have one. If not, create one (new users must have NIN from NIDA to create their account)
3. Select the “New e-service” window
4. Choose “Trade and Service Mark” to apply for the Certificate of Trademark Registration.
5. Select “Filing of other documents about Service/Trade Mark” and proceed
6. Select Filing Type F6 fees for registering a mark TM/SM8 and add the Service/Trade Mark number (e.g., TZ/S/2022/200). Then click on the search button and proceed
7. Fill in the item labelled “Representative Statement” by providing the applicant’s name, which can be a person or legal entity
8. On the attachment option, attach form TM/SM8 and click the agreement button
9. Pay the registration fees of TzS 60,000 and maintenance fees of TzS 5000 via electronic mode (TIGO Pesa, M-Pesa, CRDB account, NMB, or Mobile Money).

Note that Brela Tanzania communicates by sending the registration certificate to the applicant’s ORS account via the printout platform.

Granting of Patents

What Does the Term “Patent” Mean?

Patent refers to the legal right a Government grants to inventors for their inventions. An invention refers to a solution to a particular problem experienced in a field of technology.

The whole content of an invention’s patent description, which forms the basis for the patent right application, is known as a “patent document.”

The Content of a Patent Document

Typically, a patent document contains:

1. An abstract
2. Title of the invention
3. The claims
4. A general description of the invention
5. The technical drawings (if any)

The grant term of an application for a patent is 20 years, counted from the date it was filed. After the expiration of the 20 years, the patent falls into the public domain, allowing anyone interested to use it freely.

Who Grants Patent Rights?

Inventors file applications for patents with the constituted authority designated by a relevant sovereign nation. Usually, it is a government agency or department. Essentially, the power to grant patents is vested in the Patent Registrar or any other name chosen by the government of the sovereign nation.

In Tanzania, inventors apply for patent rights by filing form P. 2 together with a triplicate copy of the patent document tendered to the Registrar of Patents at Brela Tanzania.

Conditions for Patent Grants

Generally, there are 3 criteria for patent grants. They are:

1. Novelty: To be patentable, the invention must be new.
2. Industrial applicability: To be patented, an invention should be industrially workable.
3. Novelty: To be patentable, an invention must be new.

A patent-right applicant may be a legal or natural person who will file the application with the Patents Registrar with BRELA.

Licenses

Issuance of Business Licence Group A

A business license refers to any license issued in electronic or paper form. It is a permit granted to an individual to conduct a certain business at a given business place.

Types of Licences

1. Business Licence Schedule “A” for any policy-governed business of international or national nature
2. Business license schedule “B” for any other business that is not of international/national nature or not preceded/governed by policy.

Benefits of a License

1. Gives legal recognition to businesses
2. Form of identification to financial entities like banks
3. Reinforces customer trust

Natural Person

1. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
2. Citizenship proof
3. Proof of availability of appropriate business location for the business
4. Extra requirements for certain businesses (regulator permit/license)

Company/Business Name

1. Registration certificate or incorporation certificate
2. Proprietor’s information (for business name only)
3. Company/business name’s Taxpayer Identification Number
4. Certificate of tax clearance for license renewal
5. Proof of availability of appropriate business location for the business
6. Proof of residence permit or citizenship for shareholders and directors of the company.

License Application Steps

1. Log on to the Brela Tanzania website; www.business.go.tz
2. Click on “register.”
3. Supply the registration information
4. Click on “submit.”
5. Click “Brela Tanzania login” again
6. Click “services”
7. Choose “license services.”
8. Provide information about the license
9. Upload the required attachments
10. Select apply
11. Confirm your payment

Issuance of Industrial Licenses

“Industry” refers to a factory where at least ten workers work on any given day.

Types of Industrial License

1. Registration certificate issued to small industries with a fixed investment cost of not more than TzS 100 million.
2. Registration certificate issued to small industries with a fixed investment cost above TzS 100 million.

Benefits of Factory/Industry Registration

1. Formalizes the business
2. Makes the business compliant with existing laws
3. Access to permit/license from other regulators/authorities

Attachments Required

1. License consolidated for,
2. Proof of appropriate location of a factory/industry
3. Business plan

How to Register for an Industrial License

1. Visit  the Brela Tanzania website; ors.brela.go.tz or www.brela.go.tz
2. Log in to your Online Registration System account if you have one. If not, create one
3. Choose “online service.”
4. Choose “industrial license.”
5. Select industrial license type
6. Enter the total level of investment
7. Supply the required industry information
8. Upload the attachments required
9. Initiate payment via direct bank deposit or mobile money
10. Once payment is made, the application automatically gets submitted to BRELA for recommendation and processing.

Services

• Online Registration System
• Tanzania National Business Portal
• Trade Information Module
• Recruitment Portal
• Beneficial Ownership System
• IP Diagnostic Tool
• Brela Tanzania company search

Other Important Things About Brela

Brela Tanzania list of companies pdf

For more articles related to Government of Tanzania and the Society (Community), click here!