Investment Certificate in Zanzibar (Zipa)
Investment Certificate in Zanzibar (Zipa)
INVESTMENT CERTIFICATE IN
ZANZIBAR UNDER THE ZANZIBAR
INVESTMENT PROMOTION AGENCY
(ZIPA)
Investor shall submit a concept note for the proposed project to be implemented in Zanzibar
through Investment Intention Form which is available free of charge at ZIPA offices or can
be accessed here
Once the concept note is accepted, the investor shall be notified and provided with
Application Form for a non-refundable fee of US$ 500 , to be paid at Peoples’ Bank of
Zanzibar at Account number 0400424000 (US$) or its equivalent in Tanzanian Shillings at
Account number 0404140000 (TZS); or advised otherwise. The processing time is 3 working
days.
A dully filled application form should be submitted to ZIPA, accompanied with the following
documents:
Certificate of Incorporation
Memorandum and Article of Association
Any other document to support the Application
Receipt of the payment of Application Form.
Please note: The Investment Certificate is issued within 7 working days or advise investor
otherwise.
Investors may apply for corporate tax exemption after fulfilling the following conditions:
Invest at least 75% of the capital specified in the Business plan/feasibility study;
Start business operation
Please note: Application for Corporate Tax exemption shall be made in the first year of
business operation.
Investor shall submit to ZIPA Bill of Quantity and a list of all capital goods to be imported as
well as to be purchased locally for consideration and where appropriate be granted
exemption. The list should be submitted in both hard and soft copy.
For each consignment of approved imported materials, investor may apply for exemption in
writing to ZIPA at least 2 weeks before arrival of goods in Zanzibar and submit together
with the application 2 sets of the following documents:
For every goods to be purchased locally, investor may apply for Value Added Tax (VAT)
relief to ZIPA and submit two sets of the following:
A dully filled Value Added Tax form issued by Zanzibar Revenue Board
Two copies of pro forma invoice
Note: Investor shall pay 5% of the amount exempted to ZIPA as service charge, except for
Strategic investment.
Building Permits
APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR A BUILDING PERMIT
Building Permit is issued by Development Control Unit (DCU) through ZIPA after approval
of drawings of the proposed project. All drawings should be drawn in accordance with
Drawing Guidelines provided by DCU through ZIPA.
Investors shall apply a Building Permit to ZIPA and submit Ten (10) copies of proposed
drawings for the project to be implemented. The drawing shall include the following:-
Architectural Drawings
Topographic Maps
General Site Lay out Plan
Plans, Section and Elevations of all Structures
Architectural Details
Engineering/Structural Drawings
Optional Drawing
Note: All submitted drawings should have a stamp of Zanzibar Board of Professional of
Architects, Engineers, and Quantity Surveyors.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
The issuance of Work and Residence permits shall not exceed 14 working days from
the date of submission. Investors are advised to make their payment on time to avoid
unnecessary delays. All payment should be deposited to PBZ Bank at account number
0400485001 (USD), 0400485000 (TZS) for Work permit and account number
0400257000 (USD) for Residence permit.
All approved Permit/Passport shall be collected at ZIPA on working days from 01:00PM
to 03:00PM.
The wage of every employee shall be payable in legal tender directly deposited to each
employees local bank account and any agreement to the contrary shall be null and
void.
It is an offence for any foreigner to work without a valid work permit. It is also an
offence for any employer to employ or permit any foreigner without a valid work
permit to work in his or her establishment.
NEW APPLICATIONS
For each post to be filled by non-citizen, investor shall apply in writing to ZIPA for a work
and residence permits, prior to the arrival of the applicant in Zanzibar and submit together
with the application the following documents:
For shareholders
FOR EXPATRIATES
FOR DEPENDENTS
Work permit is valid for one year and can be renewed. Where a work permit is about to
expire and the applicant is eligible for renewal, investor shall apply to ZIPA for the renewal,
at least 14 working days before expiry date of the permit. The application shall be made in
writing and accompanied with the following documents:
FOR SHAREHOLDERS
FOR EXPATRIATES
Where a residence permit is about to expire, and the same is eligible for replacement,
investor shall apply to ZIPA for its replacement at least 14 days before expiry date. The
application shall be made in writing and accompanied with the following documents:
FOR SHAREHOLDERS
Note:
FOR EXPATRIATES
FOR DEPENDENTS
Where a Dependent pass is about to expire, investor shall apply for the renewal of the same
at least 14 days before expiry date. The application shall be made in writing to ZIPA and
accompanied with the following documents:
FOR INVESTORS
Where investor decides to cancel the work and residence permits, shall apply in writing to
ZIPA and submit the following documents:
FOR EXPATRIATES
Where a contract between an expatriate and employer is about to end/terminated, and is not
eligible for renewal employer shall apply to ZIPA for the cancellation of both work and
residence permits at least 7 days before departure. The application shall be made in writing
and accompanied with the following:-
This permit is issued for temporary assignment for a period of less than six (6) months. The
application shall be made in writing to ZIPA and accompanied with the following
documents:-
Investors investing in Free Economic Zones are granted the following tax
incentives:-
10 year Corporate Tax Holiday and 25% tax rate for the subsequent ten years.
10 year withholding tax holiday on dividends to non residents.
Duty and VAT Exemption on raw materials, machinery, equipment and other inputs.
Stamp Duty Exemption
100% investment deduction on capital expenditure within 20 years.
Exemption from Tax on dividend for ten years.
Duty and Tax free Import of goods from domestic area permissible.
Duty Free import of raw materials for construction of factory buildings.
Duty free export of goods produced.
Exemption of income Tax on interest on borrowed capital.
Exemption from payment of all taxes and levies imposed by local government
authorities for gods and services produced in Free Economic Zones.
On site custom inspection of goods in lieu of off-port inspection.
Investors investing in Free Zones are granted the following tax incentives:
NB: 20% of turnover is allowed for sale at the local market and is subject to the payment of
all taxes.