Burundi has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Burundi has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

According to Art. 17 of Decree No. 100/97, importers of electronic communications equipment must register and obtain validation and authorisation of intent to import from the Telecommunications Regulatory and Control Agency (ARCT).

Type approval procedures in Burundi are regulated by the "Agence de regulation et de controle des telecommuincations". It is reported that the conformity requirements are similar to those of the European Union. The homologation process in X does not require local laboratory testing or contact with local representatives.

According to Arts. 20-21 of Decree No. 100/97, any natural or legal person wishing to operate a value-added service must obtain prior authorisation from the "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications). According to the Decree, value-added services include exploiting electronic commerce platforms and operating money transfer and mobile payment platforms. To apply, the following documents must be submitted: a reasoned application, the identification of the applicant, the technical and financial means that it intends to use, and the concessionaire with whom it intends to establish a partnership, if applicable.

Burundi does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. However, there is an informal reported threshold of USD 100.

According to Art. 18 of Burundi's Commercial Code, foreign merchants residing outside Burundi must have an elected domicile in Burundi and appoint a legal representative who has permanent residence in Burundi.

Burundi has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Burundi has a telecommunications authority: "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT). However, it is reported that this entity is not fully independent.

Burundi has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Burundi has no comprehensive data protection law. However, Decree No. 100/182 of 30 September 1997, laying down organic provisions on telecommunications, contains data protection provisions and imposes confidentiality obligations on personal information (Art. 23-26).

Arts. 29 and 30 of Law No. 100/97 provide that, for public security reasons and judiciary inquiries, telecom operators must provide the full identity and geo-location of their subscribers in real time whenever asked by the Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications). Failure to identify subscribers attracts a fine of Burundian Francs 5,000,000 (USD 2,000).
In addition, it is reported that Art. 5 of Order No. 540/356 on fighting fraud in the ICT domain gives the "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications) the right to direct any operator to provide the detailed identity of any subscriber. Further, Art. 6 empowers the ARCT to provide a voice server where the operator must divert all phone communications of a user where crime is suspected. The operators must provide a secured web application to the regulator. Art. 9 allows the ARCT to request the full identity of an internet subscriber and their IP address and install IP probes on the technical installations of an ISP. Moreover, Art. 10 obliges operators to comply with any request by the ARCT and its technical partner in order to fight fraud in electronic communications. Failure to cooperate attracts a daily fine of five million Burundian Francs (USD 2,000). The legal text is not available online.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Burundi's law and jurisprudence. The legal and regulatory framework around intermediary liability is not clear, which is reported to lead to insufficient legal certainty to conduct a wide range of activities, free from the threat of potential liability and the chilling effect of potential litigation. The Burundi Electronic Transaction Law, which has some provisions on intermediary liability, has not yet been promulgated. In addition, there are specific provisions that provide liability for intermediaries. Art. 30 of Law 100/97 of April 2014 on electronic telecommunications provides that operators of electronic communications are fully responsible for fighting fraud in their domains.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Burundi's law and jurisprudence.

According to Arts. 29-31 of Law No. 100/97 of 18 April 2014 (amending the Ministerial Law No. 520/730/540/231 of 9 April 1995), operators of electronic communications networks open to the public and electronic communication services providers are required to identify subscribers at the time of any subscription, maintain subscriber lists and produce directories. They are also required to submit information on the identity of subscribers to the "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications).