Ezulwini- The Eswatini Television Authority (ESTVA) will from July 1, 2026 require all retailers importing television sets and decoders into the country to first obtain valid import permits.
Announcing the new system during the launch of the initiative at ERS Headquarters today, Chief Executive Officer Mluleki Dlamini said the initiative marks a defining moment for the national broadcaster as it moves away from reactive enforcement measures towards a border-controlled compliance system.
“Every television and decoder entering this country must now be linked to a valid permit. If that requirement is not met, the product will not enter the country,” Dlamini said.
He explained that the new framework is primarily targeted at retailers and commercial importers, while ordinary individuals purchasing television sets outside the country for personal use will still be allowed to bring in up to two TV sets per year without a permit. Any quantity exceeding that threshold will require formal authorisation.
Dlamini said the intervention is expected to unlock more than E5 million annually while pushing compliance levels close to 100 percent at the point of entry.
“For too long, we have relied on reactive enforcement, inspections, follow-ups and prosecutions that consume time and scarce resources with limited impact on overall compliance. That approach ends here,” he said.
The CEO described the permit system as a structural correction designed to close loopholes that have historically undermined licence fee collection and disadvantaged compliant retailers.
“What this does is close a critical gap in the system. It restores fairness among retailers, strengthens compliance and protects a key revenue stream that the institution depends on,” Dlamini said.
He added that the broadcaster is repositioning itself into a professionally managed and financially sustainable institution supported by integrated digital systems capable of enforcing compliance at scale.
“We are no longer operating reactively. We are putting in place systems that give us control, visibility and predictability. That is how a world-class institution operates,” he said.
The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Eswatini Revenue Service and the Ministry of ICT. The Authority affirmed no additional fees will be charged under the new permit arrangement.
Dlamini further revealed that the import permit project forms part of a broader overhaul of TV licence collection systems, with a second phase already being prepared to strengthen annual TV licence renewal collections across the country
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