What is BRELA and what does it register?
The Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA) is the Tanzanian government agency that registers companies and business names, and that issues certain business and industrial licences and records trade and service marks. For a buyer, its main use is the companies register: the official record of each company incorporated in Tanzania, kept under the companies law.
BRELA does not license mining, mineral dealing or mineral exports. Those belong to the Mining Commission. A seller of gold or other minerals in Tanzania should therefore appear in two places: at BRELA as a company, and at the Mining Commission as the holder of the licence for the trade it describes.
What does a BRELA company record show?
A current extract of a company’s record usually shows the following. The exact content depends on the type of extract and on what the company has filed.
| Field | What it tells the buyer |
|---|---|
| Registered name and registration number | Whether the company in the contract is the one on the register, spelled exactly the same |
| Date of incorporation | Whether the company’s age matches the trading history it claims |
| Company type and status | Whether it is a private or public company, and whether it is active |
| Registered office and postal address | Where the company says it can be found; a starting point for a site visit |
| Directors and company secretary | Who manages the company on paper, to compare with the people you are dealing with |
| Shareholders and shareholdings | Who owns the company on paper; corporate shareholders need tracing further |
| Share capital | The scale of the company, compared with the size of the deal on offer |
| Filing history and annual returns | Whether the company keeps its record up to date |
Where beneficial-ownership information has been filed, it identifies the individuals who ultimately own or control the company. Whether and how that information can be seen by a third party is set by the registry; check the registry’s current requirements.
How do you search for a company on BRELA?
- Ask the seller for its full registered name, its registration number and a copy of its certificate of incorporation. Treat the copy as a pointer to the record, not as proof.
- Use BRELA’s Online Registration System to search the register for the name and number. A name search shows whether a company of that name exists; it is not a full record.
- Request an official search or extract of the company’s record through the system. This normally requires a registered user account and a fee; the steps and fees are set by BRELA, so check the registry’s current requirements.
- Keep the extract with its date. A record describes the company on the day it was issued, and directors or shareholders can change.
- Compare every field with the documents the seller has sent and with the parties named in the draft contract.
How do you read a BRELA extract?
Read the extract against the deal, line by line. The questions that matter are simple:
- Is the name on the extract exactly the name in the contract, the invoice and the licence? Small differences — a missing word, “Ltd” for “Limited” with a different number — can mean a different company.
- Is the company active, and are its annual returns filed? A company that has stopped filing may be struck off or dormant.
- Does the date of incorporation fit the story? A company formed months ago that claims years of exports needs explaining.
- Are the people you are dealing with directors, or do they hold a written authority from the company? A “mandate” or “agent” with no role on the record cannot bind the company.
- Who are the shareholders? If they are other companies, each must be followed through its own registry until individuals are reached.
- Does the registered office exist, and is it more than a postal address?
What does a BRELA record not prove?
A clean BRELA record proves that the company exists and is registered. It does not prove any of the following, and none of them can be read from the companies register:
| Not proved by BRELA | Where it is checked |
|---|---|
| A mining title or a right to mine | The Mining Commission and the mining cadastre |
| A dealer, broker or export licence | The Mining Commission, which issues them |
| Ownership of the goods on offer | The vault, warehouse or refinery holding them, contacted directly |
| That the goods exist and match the grade | Inspection and testing where the goods are held |
| That the company can deliver | Licences, export records, logistics and a site visit together |
| That the people behind it are clean | Sanctions, politically-exposed-person and adverse-media screening |
How do you match the company to its Mining Commission licence?
The Mining Commission (Tume ya Madini) issues and regulates mineral rights and trading licences under Tanzania’s mining law. The licence the seller should hold depends on what it says it does.
| What the seller claims | Licence to look for |
|---|---|
| Exploring for minerals | Prospecting licence — it does not permit production |
| Small-scale mining | Primary mining licence |
| Medium or large-scale mining | Mining licence or special mining licence |
| Buying and selling minerals | Mineral dealer’s licence |
| Arranging sales for others | Broker’s licence — it does not cover holding stock |
| Exporting a consignment | An export permit for that consignment |
Take the licence number from the seller and confirm with the Commission the holder’s name, the licence type, the minerals covered, the area or location, the status and the expiry date. Then compare the holder’s name with the BRELA record. The holder must be the same company as the seller, or a company the seller can show it controls. Licence categories and conditions change with the law; check the registry’s current requirements with the Commission.
How do you use the Tanzania mining cadastre?
Mineral rights in Tanzania are recorded in an online mining cadastre, a map-based register maintained for the Ministry of Minerals and the Mining Commission and reached through the cadastre portal. It shows licences with their numbers, holders, types, minerals, boundaries and status.
Use it to answer three questions. Does the licence the seller quotes exist? Is it held by the seller’s company? Does its area match the place the minerals are said to come from — Geita, the Lake Victoria goldfields, or elsewhere? A licence held by another company, a licence in a different district or an expired licence is a finding in its own right. Where the public view is incomplete, the Commission can confirm the details directly.
Which records apply when the minerals are exported?
An export of minerals from Tanzania is made under an export permit for the consignment, issued after the minerals have been assessed and the royalty and other charges due have been paid. Artisanal and small-scale gold is meant to be traded through the government’s mineral markets and buying centres, and dealers are subject to rules on selling part of their gold to the Bank of Tanzania.
For a buyer, this means a seller offering gold for export should be able to point to market or buying-centre records, royalty receipts and, at shipment, an export permit in its own name. Each can be confirmed with the issuing office. The rules are revised from time to time; check the registry’s current requirements.
Which red flags appear when the record is checked?
- The name on the licence, the BRELA record and the contract differ.
- The company was incorporated recently but claims a long export history.
- The seller holds a broker’s licence but offers gold it says it owns.
- The licence is a prospecting licence, yet the seller offers production.
- The people negotiating are not directors and cannot show a company resolution authorising them.
- The seller sends a registry “printout” and discourages an independent search.
Where can a BRELA and licence check be done for you?
Nairank Global checks Tanzanian suppliers at BRELA, the Mining Commission and the cadastre, confirms the documents with their issuers, and inspects and tests the goods where they are held. See supplier due diligence in Tanzania, or start with supplier due diligence. For the licence check in more depth, read how to verify a mining licence.