Bank of Tanzania Drafts New Reporting Rules for Islamic Banking

Tanzania’s central bank has put the reporting side of Islamic banking out for industry review, sending every bank and financial institution a draft framework along with the templates lenders would file under it, The Guardian (Tanzania) reported on August 5. Several Tanzanian banks already run Islamic banking windows, but the regulator has lacked a dedicated reporting standard for that business.

The Bank of Tanzania’s draft Regulatory Reporting Guidelines for Non-Interest Banking Business would set a single reporting standard and improve the data the central bank collects on the segment, the BoT said, per The Guardian (Tanzania). Comments closed August 7, 2026. Tanzania’s Non-Interest Banking Business Regulations, 2025, Government Notice No. 688, were issued December 19, 2025, per The Citizen.

What the Draft Would Require

The guidelines, the BoT said, are meant to standardize regulatory reporting for institutions offering non-interest banking and strengthen the central bank’s off-site supervision of the segment, The Guardian reported. The framework would cover every bank and financial institution engaged in non-interest banking, whether a fully fledged Islamic financial institution or a window inside a conventional bank, under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act.

The draft lists the Shari’ah-compliant products banks could report: Murabaha, Commodity Murabaha (Tawarruq), Salam and Istisna’a; Mudarabah and Musharakah profit-sharing arrangements; Ijarah leasing; and Sukuk, Takaful and Qard Hassan, The Guardian reported. Banks could add others if their Shari’ah Advisory Committees recommend them and boards approve, per the draft.

Boards would oversee compliance, confirm the accuracy of returns and sign off on financing modes their Shari’ah Advisory Committees put forward, while senior management would handle internal controls for preparing and submitting reports, according to The Guardian. Institutions would also have to follow National Board of Accountants and Auditors guidance on Islamic banking. The consultation document doesn’t specify reporting frequency, though standardized returns would become mandatory once the guidelines take effect, The Guardian reported. Proposed penalties range from civil fines and suspended lending or deposit-taking to officer removal and, in the most serious cases, license revocation, the paper reported.

The December 2025 Regulations Already in Force

The sector’s existing rulebook is the Banking and Financial Institutions (Non-Interest Banking Business) Regulations, 2025, published under Government Notice No. 688 on December 19, 2025, according to The Citizen and TanzaniaInvest. Those regulations already require institutions to submit feasibility studies with three-year forecasts, list proposed Shari’ah-compliant products, create a standalone non-interest banking unit at head-office level and keep non-interest funds completely separate from conventional operations, per The Citizen. Each institution must also form a Shari’ah Advisory Committee of at least three experts, set aside reserves against profit-sharing losses and route non-compliant income to registered charities rather than corporate social responsibility programs, The Citizen reported.

Conventional banks need prior written BoT approval to launch an Islamic banking window, and BoT approval to close or discontinue one, while Shari’ah Advisory Committees file quarterly reports to their boards, who give the central bank an annual assessment, TanzaniaInvest reported. Clyde & Co, reviewing the regulation in a January 2026 analysis, wrote that “a conventional bank or financial institution must maintain separate books of accounts and records for its non-interest banking window,” noting penalties that include dividend prohibition and license revocation.

The Halal Times has previously covered Islamic finance regulation elsewhere in East Africa, including in Kenya, and Shari’ah-compliant dealmaking by Tanzanian firms, including financing agreements in Zambia.

What the Regulator and Industry Said

Bank of Tanzania Governor Emmanuel Tutuba, discussing the December 2025 regulations, told The Citizen: “The objective is to widen the space and accommodate stakeholders who could not access banking services due to their beliefs.” He added: “In the past, we issued waivers for institutions to offer non-interest products…Now we are moving away from waivers.”

Amour Muro, head of Islamic banking at KCB Bank Tanzania, said of the 2025 regulations, per The Citizen: “The regulations have touched the important basics, governance, product approval, risk management.” Islamic finance consultant Abdallah Ndele, speaking to the same paper about those 2025 rules, said: “The regulation is one of the steps in the right direction.”

What’s Still Open

The comment window on the draft reporting guidelines closed August 7, 2026, and The Guardian’s report gives no date for finalization or implementation. Clyde & Co flagged a related gap in the December 2025 regulations: they carry no explicit deadline for existing institutions to comply.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Tanzania’s new Islamic banking reporting guidelines?

Draft Regulatory Reporting Guidelines for Non-Interest Banking Business, circulated to all banks with reporting templates to standardize how Shari’ah-compliant activity is reported, according to The Guardian (Tanzania). They aren’t yet in force.

When did the comment period on the draft close?

August 7, 2026, according to The Guardian (Tanzania), which reported the central bank invited stakeholders to comment before the guidelines are finalized. The same report gives no date for when the framework will be finalized.

What products does the draft framework cover?

Murabaha, Commodity Murabaha (Tawarruq), Salam, Istisna’a, Mudarabah, Musharakah, Ijarah, Sukuk, Takaful and Qard Hassan, per The Guardian (Tanzania), with room for additional products recommended by a bank’s Shari’ah Advisory Committee and approved by its board.

How does this differ from the 2025 regulations?

The 2025 rules, published as Government Notice No. 688 and issued December 19, 2025, set governance and licensing requirements, per The Citizen, TanzaniaInvest and Clyde & Co. The 2026 document is a separate, still-unfinalized draft covering how institutions report non-interest banking activity, according to The Guardian (Tanzania).