Kenyan firm Match Masters has sued Tanzania at the East Africa Court of Justice over provisions in Tanzania’s Finance Act, 2025, arguing they are discriminatory and breach the East African Community Charter.

• The new act imposes a higher excise duty of TSh 400 (Sh21) per kilo on imported matches, increasing the price of Match Masters' products by TSh 2,000 (Sh103) per carton.
• Match Masters Managing Director Kushal Shah stated this levy creates a disguised customs barrier, violating the EAC treaty which prohibits new fiscal barriers and discriminatory measures against partner states.
• The Finance Act, 2025, along with the recent Business Licensing (Prohibition of Business Activities for Non-Citizens) Order, 2025, has drawn complaints from Kenya's Trade and Industry Ministry, which sees these as undermining regional economic integration.