7 October 2025
Africa’s trade landscape is shifting. Governments are introducing new requirements to bring order and accountability to the movement of goods. Among the most significant is the rise of mandatory recordation systems, already in place in Kenya and soon to be implemented in mainland Tanzania.
Mandatory recordations should not be confused with customs recordals. Customs recordals are voluntary. They depend on intellectual property rights (“IPR”) holders registering their rights with customs or anti-counterfeiting authorities, who register those rights on a database. Authorities then use this information to flag suspicious goods and alert the brand attorneys and/or representatives of such detentions. They only cover the brands that have been recorded and heavily rely on rights holders taking the initiative.
Mandatory recordations are different in both scope and philosophy. They are not optional and apply to all branded goods entering the country, whether genuine or not. IPR holders must record the relevant IPRs and failure to do so can result in the goods being denied entry. Kenya rolled out its system in January 2023, and Tanzania will follow in December 2025. The relatively short period between the two demonstrates just how quickly regulators are moving in this space.
The aim is not limited to tackling counterfeits, although that is a clear benefit. By requiring all goods to be recorded, the authorities are building a comprehensive picture of what enters their markets. This strengthens supply chain accountability and gives officials a far better chance of identifying risks – whether those are counterfeit goods, parallel imports, or products that fail to meet safety standards.
For IPR holders, the implications are significant. Customs recordals remain an effective enforcement tool but they no longer operate in isolation. Mandatory recordations create a new baseline: goods cannot cross the border unless they are properly recorded. This means that IPR holders need to take a more proactive approach to managing their portfolios and to coordinate with their respective authorised distributors.
Implementation is not always straightforward. Kenya’s experience has shown that systems of this kind can face teething problems, from uncertainty around procedures to delays in processing. Tanzania may also experience similar challenges as it establishes its own framework. Even so, the direction of travel is clear. African governments are signalling that transparency and regulation of imports are no longer optional extras. They are central to how trade will operate going forward.
For businesses, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Compliance requires planning, but the result is a market that is better regulated, more predictable and ultimately safer for consumers. Counterfeiting will remain a major concern in Africa, but by embedding recordation requirements into the very process of importation, governments are moving the fight against counterfeit and illicit goods and the management of legitimate ones onto firmer ground.
