The Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) has raised concerns over unpredictable and unstable business environment in the country following the reintroduction of business licences’ annual renewals.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced the system reintroduction, requiring all businesses across the country to apply for annual business licences as the government reverts to a 1972 legislation that limit business licences to definite periods.
The ministry said the coming to force of the new business licence regime was implementation of the Finance Act of 2011 which has brought back annual payment of business licences. According to Finance Act 2011, local government authorities are supposed to make new bylaws to charge the licence fees.
But, CTI Chairman Felix Moshi told the ‘Daily News’ in an interview on Tuesday that the problem was not on the amount of money required as financial requirement but the implication of the directive in making the licencing regime less predictable and unstable.
“Our policies must be predictable and stable. When you go back to measures you had already removed, you are destructing the stability of your policies and negatively impacting on policy predictability,” he told the ‘Daily News’ in Dar es Salaam.
The CTI chairman said the government was sending wrong signals that may make Tanzania less competitive in attracting investments, “The government is telling local and foreign investors that the country’s policies in the business regime are neither predictable nor stable.”
The Ministry of Industry said through its advertisement that provision of licences without fee ended on June 30, 2013, directing all businesses with licences provided between July 2004 and June 2013 to visit relevant issuing authorities for new licences upon paying the relevant fees.
Source Tanzania Daily News