CHAPTER 43:01
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I
Preliminary Provisions
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
3. Application of Act
PART II
Licensing of Manufacturing Enterprises
4. Application of Part II
5. Manufacturing enterprises requiring industrial licence
6. Application for industrial licence
7. Assessment of application for industrial licence
8. Refusal to issue industrial licence
9. Issue of industrial licence and its validity
10. Application for new product, additional and change of location and notification of change of business name
11. Display of industrial licence
12. Transfer of industrial licence
13. Suspension and revocation of industrial licence
14. Register for industrial licences
PART III
Registration of Manufacturing Enterprises
15. Application of Part III
16. Registration requirements
17. Application for registration certificate
18. Issue of registration certificate
19. Display of registration certificate
20. Transfer of registration certificate
21. Validity of registration certificate
22. Suspension or cancellation of registration certificate
23. Register for registration certificates
PART IV
Administration and Enforcement
24. Supervision by Director
25. Appointment of authorised officers
26. Investigation by Director
27. Search of premises
28. Enforcement
PART V
General Provisions
29. Compliance with other laws
30. Duty to provide information
31. Appeals
32. Continuation of Regional Appeals Board
33. Tenure of office of members
34. Secretariat of Regional Appeals Board
35. Disclosure of interest
36. Confidentiality
37. Offences and penalties
38. Regulations
39. Repeal of Cap. 43:01 and savings
40. Transitional provisions
Act 23, 2019,
S.I. 79, 2020.
An Act to provide for the regulation of manufacturing enterprises through their licensing, registration and supervision to facilitate industrial development and for connected and incidental matters.
[Date of Commencement: 1st June, 2020.]
PART I
Preliminary Provisions (ss 1-3)
This Act is the Industrial Development Act.
In this Act—
"authorised officer" means a public officer appointed by the Minister in terms of section 25;
"certificate holder" means a person issued with a registration certificate under Part III;
"Director" means the Director of Industrial Affairs;
"industrial licence" means a licence issued under section 8 to operate a manufacturing enterprise;
"large manufacturing enterprise" means a business entity with such annual turnover and staff complement as the Minister may, by Order published in the Gazette, prescribe;
"licensee" means a person to whom an industrial licence is issued in terms of section 8;
"manufacture" means the transformation (by any means) of any material or a component of a material (whether raw or in any other form) into a new product and includes—
(a) packaging;
(b) canning;
(c) assembly of parts; and
(d) other processes as the Minister may prescribe;
"manufacturing enterprise" means a manufacturing business entity which is licensed or registered under this Act;
"medium manufacturing enterprise" means a business entity with such annual turnover and staff complement as the Minister may, by Order published in the Gazette, prescribe;
"member" means a member of the Regional Appeals Board continued under section 32;
"micro manufacturing enterprise" means a business entity with such annual turnover and staff complement as the Minister may, by Order published in the Gazette, prescribe;
"product" means any article, thing or substance produced by any manufacturing enterprise to which this Act applies, but excludes any immovable structure;
"Regional Appeals Board" means the Board continued under section 32;
"registration certificate" means a certificate issued under section 18; and
"small manufacturing enterprise" means a business entity with such annual turnover and staff complement as the Minister may, by Order published in the Gazette, prescribe.
(1) This Act applies to any manufacturing enterprise which—
(a) is operated and owned, wholly or partly by a citizen of Botswana;
(b) is operated or owned, wholly or partly by a citizen of Botswana; or
(c) is operated and owned, or operated or owned by any person not being a citizen of Botswana, who operates by himself or herself or with others.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), this Act does not apply to—
(a) the Botswana Meat Commission;
(b) any manufacturing enterprise licensed under the Arms and Ammunition Act (Cap. 24:01);
(c) any manufacturing enterprise for milling licensed under the Control of Maize Milling Act (Cap. 43:05);
(d) any manufacturing enterprise licensed to manufacture medicine and related products under the Medicines and Related Substances Act (Cap. 63:04);
(e) any manufacturing enterprise licensed in terms of any regulations made under the Hides and Skins Export Act (Cap. 49:01);
(f) any regulated sector involved in manufacturing which is licensed under the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority Act (Cap. 74:11);
(g) the Botswana Vaccine Institute;
(h) any manufacturing enterprise licensed under the Mines and Minerals Act (Cap. 66:01); and
(i) any person issued with a diamond cutting licence under the Diamond Cutting Act (Cap. 66:04).
PART II
Licensing of Manufacturing Enterprises (ss 4-14)
(1) This Part applies to any manufacturing enterprise which—
(a) presents any health and safety concerns in its manufacturing processes or in the manufactured products or by-products; or
(b) poses a danger to public health or if, in the manufacturing process, a danger to public health is likely to occur.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may exempt a category of micro and small manufacturing enterprises from the requirements of this Part.
(3) The Minister may make regulations to apply exclusively to the category of micro and small manufacturing enterprises that are exempted from being licensed under subsection (2).
(4) In this section, "health and safety concerns" refers to factors that may arise in the manufacturing process which negatively affect the environment, public safety or occupational health.
5. Manufacturing enterprises requiring industrial licence
(1) A person shall not operate a manufacturing enterprise, to manufacture for sale—
(a) animal feed;
(b) baby formula;
(c) food;
(d) beverages;
(e) cement;
(f) chemical products; or
(g) such other products as the Minister may prescribe,
at any place in Botswana except in terms of an industrial licence issued by the Director, in accordance with this Act, authorising the person to manufacture such a product.
(2) In exercising the powers under subsections (1)(g) to prescribe products which require an industrial licence, the Minister shall be guided by—
(a) health and safety standards, codes or guidelines prescribed under this Act; and
(b) any other standards, codes or guidelines provided for in any law regulating the manufacture of the product in question.
(3) The Minister may amend subsection (1) by Order to remove from or add to the list of products that can be manufactured under an industrial licence issued under this Part.
(4) The Director shall be responsible for the issue of industrial licences to all manufacturing enterprises that are subject to the provisions of this Part.
(5) The Minister may make regulations—
(a) reserving industrial licences, for citizens of Botswana or companies wholly owned by citizens of Botswana—
(i) to operate certain manufacturing enterprises; and
(ii) to operate certain manufacturing enterprises in specific areas within Botswana;
(b) specifying which medium or large manufacturing enterprises reserved for citizens of Botswana or companies wholly owned by citizens of Botswana may be licensed to operate as joint ventures by citizens and non-citizens.
(6) Regulations made under subsection (5)(b) shall impose conditions on industrial licences issued to joint ventures including a condition that in any joint venture arrangement a citizen partner must hold a minimum of 51 per cent shareholding in the joint venture.
6. Application for industrial licence
(1) A person shall not operate a manufacturing enterprise unless he or she has been issued with an industrial licence in terms of this Act.
(2) When applying for an industrial licence in terms of subsection (1), an applicant shall state—
(a) the name and address of the applicant, and where the application is made by partners in a joint venture, the name and address of each of those partners;
(b) a description of the manufacturing enterprise that the applicant proposes to operate;
(c) the details of the land or premises where the applicant proposes to operate or manufacture the product from;
(d) evidence that the applicant has the—
(i) financial and technical capability and the necessary experience to manufacture the product for which the licence is sought, and
(ii) requisite ownership or usage rights of the land or premises to be used for manufacturing the product;
(e) where the application is made by partners in a joint venture arrangement, information relating to the shareholding by the partners which demonstrates that the citizen partner has a minimum of 51 per cent shares.
(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable to—
(a) a fine not exceeding P50 000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to both; and
(b) in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of P500 in respect of each day on which the offence continues but the further fine shall not exceed P100 000.
7. Assessment of application for industrial licence
(1) The Director shall, within 14 days of the date of receipt of an application, acknowledge receipt of the application in writing.
(2) In assessing an application under section 6, the Director shall be guided by the following—
(a) public health and safety guidelines which may be prescribed under this Act;
(b) whether the proposed manufacturing enterprise—
(i) presents any health and safety concerns in its manufacturing processes or in the manufactured products or by-products, or
(ii) poses a danger to public health or if, in the manufacturing process, a danger to public health is likely to occur;
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