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Investor guides

Investment Legislation

What each of the main laws covers, in a few lines, with a link to the current official text. Start here, then check the details with a lawyer or accountant.

Laws are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda, in Kinyarwanda, English and French. Free copies of the laws and gazettes are on RwandaLII, the Rwanda Legal Information Institute. Check the current text and take legal advice before you rely on a provision.

Investment and companies

Law N° 006/2021 on investment promotion and facilitation

Sets up the regime for registered investors, who receive an investment certificate from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). It lists the incentives: a preferential corporate income tax rate of 0%, 3% or 15% for qualifying activities, tax holidays of up to seven years for large projects, accelerated depreciation, customs relief and the right to recruit foreign staff. Each incentive has its own conditions on the sector, the amount invested and the jobs created.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 007/2021 governing companies

Covers the private company (Ltd), the public company (Plc), the protected cell company and the branches of foreign companies. A private company has from 1 to 100 shareholders, no minimum capital and at least one director ordinarily resident in Rwanda. Companies are registered with the Office of the Registrar General at RDB and must keep a register of beneficial owners.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 008/2021 governing partnerships

Covers the general partnership, the limited partnership and the limited liability partnership. Limited partnerships are used as investment funds at the Kigali International Financial Centre; they are tax-transparent, so the partners are taxed on their share. The law was amended by Law N° 018/2023.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 057/2024 governing cooperatives

Sets out how cooperatives are formed, run, supervised and wound up. Cooperatives are common in farming, notably in coffee, tea and dairy, and are registered and supervised by the Rwanda Cooperative Agency.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 062/2021 governing collective investment schemes

Covers unit trusts, investment companies and partnership and contractual schemes, and the managers, trustees and custodians who run them. A scheme needs a licence or an exemption from the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 47/2017 governing the organisation of banking

Sets the rules for licensing, owning, managing and supervising banks. Banks are licensed and supervised by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), which also issues the regulations on capital and governance.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 072/2024 governing mining and quarry operations

Replaced Law N° 58/2018. It sets the licences for exploration, mining, quarrying and mineral trading, which are issued by the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB), together with the obligations on environment, safety and royalties.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 17/2019 prohibiting plastic carry bags and single-use plastics

Extended the 2008 ban on plastic carry bags to single-use plastic items: their manufacture, import, use and sale are prohibited, except with a permit from the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA).

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Tax

Law N° 027/2022 establishing taxes on income

The income tax law for companies and individuals. It sets corporate income tax at 28%, the PAYE bands up to 30%, the 15% withholding tax on dividends, interest, royalties and service fees, and the rules on deductions, losses and quarterly prepayments. It was amended by Law N° 014/2025.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 049/2023 establishing value added tax

Sets VAT at 18%, with exports zero-rated and a list of exempt supplies. Registration is compulsory above RWF 20 million of turnover a year or RWF 5 million in a quarter. It was amended by Law N° 009/2025, and Ministerial Order N° 004/26/10/TC of April 2026 covers VAT on goods and services sold online from abroad.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 011/2025 on excise duty

Sets the excise duty on drinks, tobacco, fuel, vehicles and some services, with lower rates for products made with local raw materials: beer with at least 70% local content pays 40%, other beer 65%. Excise is declared and paid within five days after the month.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Employment and residence

Law N° 66/2018 regulating labour in Rwanda

The labour code. It sets a working week of at most 45 hours, a probation period of at most three months, annual leave of 1.5 working days per month of work and notice of at least 15 days in the first year of service and 30 days after. A minimum wage is to be set by ministerial order; none has been set.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Presidential Order N° 086/01 of 12/12/2024 on the pension contribution rate

Raised the pension contribution paid to the Rwanda Social Security Board from 6% to 12% of pay, split equally between employer and employee, from January 2025. The rate then rises by two points a year from 2027 to 20% in 2030.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 57/2018 on immigration and emigration

The framework for visas, residence permits and travel documents, administered by the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE). The permit classes, their conditions and fees are set by Ministerial Order N° 06/01 of 29/05/2019.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Economic zones

Law N° 05/2011 regulating special economic zones

Sets up the special economic zones and their regulator, now the Special Economic Zones Authority of Rwanda (SEZAR) at RDB. It covers the designation of zones, the licences for developers, operators and users, and the status of export processing zones for companies exporting most of their output.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Ministerial Instructions N° 001/INSTR/MINICOM/26 of 13/02/2026 on the establishment of industries

Say which kind of factory may be set up where: industries go to the special economic zones and industrial parks, three sites take heavy industry and two parks are reserved for agro-processing.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Property

Law N° 27/2021 governing land

All land is held on lease or, rarely, in freehold. Foreigners get an emphyteutic lease: up to 49 years for residential, commercial and industrial land and 99 years for farm, livestock and forest land, renewable. Every plot is registered with a Unique Parcel Identifier (UPI) in the national land register.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Prime Minister’s Order N° 008/03 of 03/07/2022 on land allocation

Sets how State land is allocated, leased and transferred, including to investors, and the conditions for developing it.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 15/2010 on condominiums

Governs apartment buildings divided into private units and common parts, the registration of each unit and the owners’ association that manages the building.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Law N° 32/2015 on expropriation in the public interest

Sets when the State may expropriate land for public works, the procedure and the compensation: the owner is paid the market value of the land and buildings plus 5% for disturbance, within 120 days of the approval of the valuation.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

Data protection

Law N° 058/2021 on the protection of personal data and privacy

Applies to anyone processing personal data in Rwanda and to controllers outside Rwanda who process data of people in Rwanda. Controllers and processors must register with the supervisory authority, the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA). Personal data must be stored in Rwanda unless the authority allows storage abroad, breaches are notified within 48 hours, and administrative misconduct, such as operating without a registration certificate, costs a company 1% of its global turnover of the previous year.

Official text

Checked November 2026.

About these texts

Rwandan laws are amended often, so this guide gives a short summary of each and links to the current text kept by the issuing authority rather than copying it. Each summary was read against that text in the month shown. For the business side, see Business & Tax, and for help, find a lawyer or accountant in the business directory.

This guide is a general summary for orientation, not legal or tax advice.