Zanzibar Closing Costs: What the Law Fixes

What does Zanzibar's Stamp Duty Act charge on a property purchase?#

Zanzibar's Stamp Duty Act, No. 7 of 2017, charges duty on the legal instrument that moves the property, and its First Schedule prints the rate. The Revised Edition of 2023 consolidates every amendment up to June 2023 and is published by the Zanzibar Revenue Authority (ZRA), which replaced the Zanzibar Revenue Board under the Zanzibar Revenue Authority Act, No. 11 of 2022. The consolidated text still refers to the Commissioner for the Zanzibar Revenue Board. Section 3 imposes the duty. Section 6 says which instruments are chargeable. For a purchase of land or a building, the instrument is the conveyance, and item 27 of the Schedule prints 1% of the total value. The text was read in full for this article on 23 October 2026.

Stamp duty is a tax on a document, not on the buyer's wealth and not on the property's later income. The Act defines stamp duty as any sum payable by way of duty, penalty, fine or any other sum chargeable under it, so penalties sit inside the same defined term. An instrument is every document by which a right or liability is created, transferred, limited, extended, extinguished or recorded. A conveyance includes a conveyance on sale and every instrument by which movable or immovable property is transferred by voluntary disposition and which the Schedule does not specifically provide for.

Scope matters before any number does. Section 6 reaches an instrument executed in Zanzibar that relates to property situated there, an instrument drawn outside Zanzibar and presented or negotiated there, and an instrument executed outside Zanzibar that relates to Zanzibar property and is received there. Section 54(4) adds that an instrument executed outside Zanzibar and purporting to transfer immovable property in Zanzibar is chargeable under the First Schedule. Signing abroad therefore does not, on this text, take a Zanzibar conveyance outside the Act.

The Act fixes some of the closing bill and is silent on the rest. It fixes the duty, the person liable, the deadline and the penalties. It does not fix advocate fees, agent commissions or registry charges. The sections below follow that order, and each number carries its grade. Statutory text is measured. Anything taken from a practitioner page is practitioner-reported and treated as directional at best.

Is stamp duty on a Zanzibar conveyance 1%, and who is liable?#

Yes. Item 27 of the First Schedule prints 1% of the total value, with the purchaser or transferee as the person liable. The Schedule words the item as 'Conveyance (not being transfer) of the total value'. The ZRA's public stamp duty page lists the same item as 'Conveyance / Transfer' at 1%, again against the purchaser or transferee. The labels differ slightly. The rate and the liable person agree in both documents.

Section 7 names the liable person and then lets the parties move the burden between themselves. Section 7(1) makes the person specified in the Schedule liable for the instrument. Section 7(3) says nothing in the section prohibits an agreement between the parties on how the duty is distributed. Section 7(2) lets a person who has paid recover the amount from another who was bound by agreement or by law to bear the cost. A sale contract can therefore allocate the cost, and the statutory liability stays where the Schedule put it.

Figures other than 1% do circulate in guides, and the Schedule does not support them for item 27. One practitioner page, marked as last updated on 21 September 2026, describes stamp duty as 0.5% on the first TZS 100,000 (Tanzanian shillings) and 1% above that. No such split appears in item 27 of the consolidated Schedule read here. A 3% rate is not printed against the conveyance item either. The practitioner page is practitioner-reported, and where it departs from the statute the statute governs.

The Schedule also prints a nominal line for conveyances that include mortgaged property. Item 28 reads '0.01/=' against the transferee or mortgagee. The consolidated text does not explain the unit, and this article does not interpret it. A principal who finances a purchase has a further set of lines to read, since items 35 and 51 price an equitable mortgage and a mortgage deed. How they interact with the lender's documents is a question for counsel in the country.

How does the Zanzibar Stamp Duty Act set the value on which duty is charged?#

The base is the consideration payable, and the average market value only where no consideration is payable. Section 15(1) says the value on which duty is payable is the amount of consideration payable by the person who has acquired the property or, if no consideration is payable, the average market value of the property. For an exchange, section 15(2) and (3) use the average market value of each property, and the greater value where the two differ.

Two provisions let the revenue side test a stated price. Section 5(5) directs the Commissioner, or a person appointed under section 5(2), to ascertain the market value of any property or instrument chargeable with duty. Section 58 requires an authorised agent to refer any conveyance or transfer on sale of immovable property to the Chief Government Valuer, before or after registration, to determine the true open market value as at the date of conveyance. A low declared price is therefore not the end of the inquiry.

Related-party transfers and foreign currency each have a written rule. Section 15(6) says that where property moves between related parties, its value is determined at arm's length. Section 53 requires duty on money expressed in a currency other than the Tanzanian shilling to be calculated in shillings, using the buying and selling rates issued by the Central Bank of Tanzania. Section 23(1) adds that duty on money in a foreign currency is calculated on its value on the day of the date of the instrument, according to the current rate of exchange. Public auction sales are carved out of section 15(1) by section 15(5), unless an authorised officer is satisfied the sale was not in good faith or involved collusion.

Section 4 adds a gate before the transfer itself. It says that no transfer of any property or instrument of ownership in Zanzibar shall be applied until the Commissioner has issued a certificate of no objection. The Act defines that certificate as one issued to certify the value of any property intended to be sold. The text does not state how long the certificate takes, and this research found no published service standard, so no timing is given.

What are the deadlines and penalties for stamping a Zanzibar property instrument?#

Thirty days is the statutory window. Section 54(1) requires every instrument liable to duty and executed in Zanzibar to be duly stamped within thirty days of execution. Where two or more persons execute it, the period runs from the date it is signed by the later or latest executant. An instrument executed outside Zanzibar must be stamped within thirty days after it is first received in Zanzibar, under section 54(2).

A person in doubt about liability has a separate route. Section 54(3) provides that someone unsure whether, or how far, the duty applies can lodge the instrument with an authorised officer within twenty days of execution for the Commissioner's decision. The date of execution is then deemed to be the date the decision is communicated. Section 51 also allows a person to ask the Commissioner for an opinion on whether an instrument is chargeable and for how much.

Late or missing stamping carries a doubled duty and a fine. Section 7(4) provides that a person liable for duty who fails to stamp the instrument as required, or who uses it unstamped, is liable to pay double the duty and in addition a fine not exceeding TZS 500,000. Section 12(6) creates a separate offence for executing an instrument with intent to evade duty without setting out the facts and circumstances fully and truly. On conviction the fine is not less than TZS 100,000 and not more than TZS 500,000.

An unstamped instrument also loses its practical value. Section 50(1) says an instrument chargeable with duty, unless duly stamped, shall not be admitted in evidence for any purpose and shall not be acted upon, registered or authenticated by a person or a public officer. Section 50(2) allows admission on payment of the duty and the prescribed penalty. Section 52 allows a refund of duty paid in error or in excess, with an application to the Commissioner within three months of payment under section 52(3).

What does the Zanzibar Schedule charge on leases and other closing documents?#

Item 45 prices the lease instrument itself, and for a land lease the duty falls on the lessee. The Schedule prints 1% of the total value for a land lease, with the lessee or tenant liable, and 0.5% for another lease, with the lessor liable. The ZRA's public stamp duty page reproduces the 1% and 0.5% figures. Section 2 defines a lease as a lease of immovable property and includes a certificate of occupancy in the definition.

Section 29 charges a premium as if it were a sale. Where the consideration for a lease consists of a premium or other consideration that is not rent, duty is computed on that consideration as if the lease were a conveyance on sale for the same amount. Section 31 deals with a lease whose later rent is to be fixed by valuation. Duty is assessed on the highest fixed rental stated, and extra duty falls due if the rent later fixed is higher.

Smaller fixed-amount items accompany the main transfer. The Schedule prints TZS 5,000 for a deed (item 30), a power of attorney (item 57), a notarial act (item 52), an affidavit (item 4) and, against the lessor, a counterpart of a lease (item 24). Which of them applies depends on which documents are actually signed. Section 9 requires each instrument, and each distinct matter within one, to be separately stamped. Section 48(3) makes an instrument that fits two descriptions chargeable only with the higher duty.

Registry and commission fees are not in the Act, and no published schedule was found. The ZRA's land lease and property tax page says land rent is charged after the revenue side receives the lease agreement from the Commission for Lands (COLA), at the rate stated in that agreement. This research did not locate a published tariff from the Commission for Lands for registration or lease charges, or a public registry tariff, as of 23 October 2026. The figure is therefore not written. The principal asks counsel for the current official fee notice and keeps it with the file.

Does buying shares in a Zanzibar company change the stamp duty position?#

The Schedule prices share transfers on their own line, and the rate for shares of total value is also 1%. Item 65(a) prints 1% of the total value with the transferee liable. Item 65(b) prints 0.5% for shares in a company listed on a stock exchange where the transfer arises from trading on that exchange. Item 67 prints 1% for share warrants to bearer. The Schedule therefore sets the line for an asset and the line for shares at the same printed rate, with different instruments and different documents behind them.

Section 38 makes stamping a condition of registering a share transfer. A transfer of shares in a corporation, company or society shall not be registered, recorded or entered in its books in Zanzibar unless duly stamped, and the transfer document must be kept at the registered office for at least twelve months. A failure to comply is an offence, with a fine of not less than TZS 2,000,000 and not more than TZS 5,000,000 under section 38(2).

Exchanges, gifts and inheritance each have their own line. Item 36 prints 0.5 for an exchange of property, and section 39 treats an exchange as a transfer on sale. Item 39 prints 1% for a gift, with the person executing liable. Section 77(2)(c) provides that no duty is payable on an instrument conveying immovable property, including land and buildings, without any payment or other consideration, on inheritance or succession or between a parent or legal guardian and a child.

One exemption cross-reference is left unresolved here. Section 77(3)(a) says duty is not payable by approved enterprises under the Zanzibar Investment Promotion and Protection Act, if exemption is provided under that Act. The investment statute in force is the Zanzibar Investment Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023), and its implementing regulations were published in 2025. This research located both but did not read the incentive provisions in searchable text, and it does not state whether any exemption applies to any purchase. That reading belongs to counsel.

What recurring charges does a Zanzibar owner face after the transfer?#

Closing is not the last statutory charge, because land rent and property tax recur. The ZRA's land lease and property tax page says the lessee pays land rent once a year, at the rate in the lease agreement, on or before the first date stated in that agreement. The page adds that the lessee registers at a revenue office after the lease agreement reaches the revenue side from COLA. The rate is a term of the individual lease and is not published as a general figure.

Property tax is set by Legal Notice No. 78 of 2023, made under section 7A(11) of the Property Tax Act No. 14 of 2008. According to the ZRA page, the owner pays once a year. The amounts listed are TZS 10,000 per storey or unit for residential storey buildings or condominiums, TZS 50,000 per storey for storey business buildings, and TZS 50,000 for other business buildings. Hotels run from TZS 500,000 for five stars down to TZS 100,000 for one star, with TZS 50,000 for other hotels. The page gives no due date or penalty, and the Property Tax Act itself was not read for this article. These amounts describe the schedule and are not a forecast of any bill.

Stamp duty can arise again on later instruments. A later lease, mortgage, gift or share transfer is a fresh instrument, and the Schedule prices each one. A resale is again an item 27 conveyance with the purchaser or transferee liable, subject to any allocation the parties agree under section 7(3). The wider exit question is covered in How Prime Property Actually Sells: The Exit.

Tax on income and on sale proceeds is outside this article. The Stamp Duty Act does not govern it, and rates read on agency or competitor pages are not cited here. What a principal must report at home depends on where the principal is resident, and a professional in that country decides it. Nothing in this piece tells any reader what that reader will owe.

Which Zanzibar closing costs does no statute fix?#

Advocate fees, agent commissions and due diligence costs are set by contract, and no statute read for this article fixes them. Guides publish percentage ranges for each. One practitioner page, marked as last updated on 21 September 2026, gives its own ranges for lawyers, agents and total closing costs and states them as market estimates and not statutory amounts. No public tariff sits behind them, so this article does not repeat the figures. They vary by adviser, by deal size and by the work scoped.

A budget that mixes statutory and negotiated lines misleads. The statutory lines are item 27 duty on the base set by section 15, any lease duty under item 45 and section 29, the fixed-amount items, and the annual charges. The negotiated lines are fees quoted in writing by the advocate and any agent. The unpublished lines are the registry and Commission for Lands charges this research could not source. Three groups carry three different degrees of confidence and belong in three columns.

Currency and timing move the shilling base. Section 53 converts a price agreed in another currency into shillings at Central Bank of Tanzania rates, and the thirty-day window under section 54 starts at signature. Section 54(1) counts the thirty days from the signature of the later or latest executant, and section 23(1) takes the exchange rate on the day of the date of the instrument. A principal who agrees a price in dollars and signs in stages asks counsel how those two rules apply to the actual signing sequence.

Where the law is silent, the principal asks for written quotes and an instrument list. The method is plain. List every document to be signed, match each to a Schedule item, and ask the advocate to state the section or legal notice behind every government charge. A line with no stated authority is flagged as unverified, and it stays flagged until a published document is produced.

How should a principal read a Zanzibar closing-cost budget?#

Start from the instrument list, because every statutory charge attaches to a document. The usual set is the conveyance (item 27), a lease where the structure uses one (item 45), a power of attorney (item 57), a notarial act (item 52), a deed (item 30), any mortgage documents (items 35 and 51) and, in a share deal, the share transfer (item 65). Building the budget in that order means a missing document shows up as a missing line.

Check the liable person against the contract. Item 27 puts the duty on the purchaser or transferee, item 45 puts a land lease on the lessee and another lease on the lessor, and section 7(3) lets the parties redistribute the burden by agreement. The allocation in the signed contract is what the principal actually carries, and the principal should be able to point to the clause.

Test the declared price against the valuation route. Section 58 sends conveyances on sale of immovable property to the Chief Government Valuer, and section 5(5) lets the revenue side ascertain market value. A gap between the contract price and an official valuation is a risk the principal prices into the budget and does not ignore. This reading does not establish how a valuation above the contract price changes the duty payable. Section 51 lets a person ask the Commissioner for an opinion on whether an instrument is chargeable and for how much.

Read the surrounding Victaura material for the questions this article leaves open. The wider verification framework is in Investing in Zanzibar: What a Buyer Can Verify, and how a term-bound right is priced is in Leasehold in Prime Resorts: Pricing a Term-Bound Right. This piece covers closing costs only and does not examine land tenure law.

Victaura's Zanzibar project is in active development, see Secret Zanzibar Hotel & Villas.

Where this reading is weak, honestly disclosed#

The text read is a consolidation published by the revenue authority, not the Gazette. The Revised Edition of 2023 states that it incorporates amendments up to June 2023. The authority's stamp duty page says its schedule summary is extracted from a Consolidated 2025 Edition, while the Act it links is the 2023 consolidation. Later amendments or legal notices may exist, and the Minister can amend the schedules by order under sections 60(2) and 78(2). A search of the Zanzibar House of Representatives site did not return a copy of this Act, so the revenue authority's PDF is the text used.

Several points are unresolved. The unit behind the '0.01/=' printed at item 28 is not explained. Item 27 is worded 'Conveyance (not being transfer)' in the Act and 'Conveyance / Transfer' on the revenue authority's page. Commission for Lands and registry fee schedules were not found. The incentive provisions of the 2023 Investment Act and the Property Tax Act itself were located but not read. Land tenure statutes are outside this piece.

The practitioner material is directional only. The one guide cited here disagrees with the statute on how the 1% is structured, and its cost ranges are market estimates without a public tariff behind them. It is cited to show the disagreement and for no other purpose. Where it and the statute differ, the article follows the statute.

Nothing here is a calculation, a tax position or legal advice for any reader. The article reads rates and procedures as printed. It does not state what any buyer will pay, what any buyer must declare in the country of residence, or whether any exemption applies. Those answers need a licensed professional in Zanzibar and in the buyer's own country, working from the signed documents.

A change in the Schedule, a published Commission tariff or a written ruling on items 27 and 28 would alter this reading. The reading reflects the texts as opened on 23 October 2026. A statute can change, and the principal should reopen the text before relying on it.

Skin in the game disclosure. Victaura, through its parent Greystone B.V. (Netherlands), develops projects on Lake Como (Italy), in Nungwi, Zanzibar (Tanzania), on Gili Air and in Uluwatu, Bali (Indonesia), and holds an off-plan capital position on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah (UAE). Readers should assume commentary may be influenced by, or benefit, these positions. This document is classified as marketing material under MiFID II Article 24(3). It is not investment advice.