Tanzania Revenue Authority recovers Sh800bn through Out-of-Court settlements

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has successfully recovered Sh800.8 billion through out-of-court settlements during the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.

This significant injection into the national treasury followed the resolution of 30 tax objection cases between January and March 2026, TRA commissioner general, Mr Yusuph Mwenda said in a statement on April 2, 2026.

The authority utilised the Tax Objection Settlement and Out-of-Court Settlement mechanisms to resolve these long-standing disputes.

This approach aims to foster a more collaborative relationship between the tax collector and the business community.

“The successful recovery of these funds contributed to an overall stellar performance for the quarter,” Mr Mwenda said in a statement.

Total revenue collection reached Sh9.31 trillion against a target of Sh8.75 trillion.

This reflects a performance efficiency of 107.6 per cent for the period. Monthly data shows a consistent upward trend in collections.

The authority gathered Sh3.04 trillion in January and Sh2.69 trillion in February. March recorded the highest monthly collection at Sh3.58 trillion.

Year-on-year growth remains strong with a 23.6 percent increase compared to the same quarter in the 2024/25 financial year.

Cumulative collections for the first nine months of the current fiscal year now stand at Sh28.005 trillion.

This figure represents 16.5 percent growth over the previous year. Tax compliance has been bolstered by the registration of 900,755 new taxpayers.

The total number of registered taxpayers in Tanzania has now reached 8,245,704.

Modernisation of tax systems has played a pivotal role in these results.

"The launch of the Integrated Domestic Revenue Administration System (IDRAS) on February 9, 2026 improved VAT return filing from 83 percent to 86 percent by March," Mr Mwenda said in the statement. 

Furthermore, the upgraded Tanzania Customs Integrated System (TANCIS) reduced cargo clearance times significantly.

Average clearance times dropped from five days to between two and three days.

The authority also intensified its crackdown on tax evasion and smuggling.

Operations during the quarter led to the seizure of contraband valued at Sh8.99 billion.

This intervention saved the government Sh3.12 billion in potential tax losses.

Additionally, TRA concluded 393 tax evasion investigations which saved a further Sh675 billion.