Botswana does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

The Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act provide a comprehensive consumer protection framework that applies to online transactions.

Botswana has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Botswana has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Botswana has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

With the exception of goods originating in Malawi, import permits – issued by the Department of International Trade in the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry – are required for goods entering Botswana directly from outside the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU). Any public or private body whose product satisfies all the requirements of a Botswana product standard can apply to the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) for the product to be certified. Samples of the product are then tested to verify its conformance to the requirements of the product standard, and if the results are acceptable, the product can then obtain the BOBS certification mark.
Regulations 3 and 6 of the Standards (Import Inspection) Regulations of 2008 provide that a compliance certificate should be obtained for all commodities or goods to be imported into Botswana. The imported commodities should either comply with the Bureau standards or international or foreign standards recognised by the Bureau for the compliance certificate to be issued.

According to Art. 5 of the Type Approval Guidelines, type approval applies to anyone who imports, manufactures, uses, or supplies telecommunication or broadcasting equipment for use or sale in Botswana. The person who wants to use or sell this product must register the equipment with Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), prior to importing, unless the equipment concerned has already been registered in BROCA’s Type Approval Database. According to Art. 6, for registration, the application must be accompanied by a declaration of conformity (DoC) and a full set of test reports confirming compliance with declared conformity. In addition, according to Section 6.5, it is not necessary to submit any other documentation or a sample of the equipment unless requested to do so by BOCRA. As specified in Art. 10, test results must be obtained from a labouratory that has been accredited by a body that is a member of the International labouratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement. Test results should be included with the application unless BOCRA specifically states in writing that test results are not required. The equipment must be tested for compliance with BROCA’s technical specifications (or equivalent) and should cover areas of safety, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and technical standards. Reference to such compliance must be included in the declaration of conformity submitted with the application.

It is reported that Botswana does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there has been an obligation to separate the accounts since 2012.

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

It is reported that the Botswana Communication Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

According to Sections 189 and 190 of the Companies Act 2007, a company limited by shares must keep accounting records, including invoices relating to the sale and supply of goods, at its registered office or such other place in Botswana as the company's board shall determine.

Section 74 of Botswana’s Data Protection Act provides that personal data may be transferred to foreign jurisdictions, provided that a copy is retained within Botswana for the entire duration of its processing. This obligation applies irrespective of the legal basis for the transfer, including adequacy decisions, appropriate safeguards, or specific derogations. The requirement to maintain a local copy is absolute and admits no exceptions.
The 2024 Act repealed the Data Protection Act 2018, which did not contain this obligation.

Sections 74–78 of the Data Protection Act 2024 allow for the transfer of personal data outside Botswana only when a copy is kept in the country and when certain conditions are fulfilled. These conditions include an adequacy decision issued by the Commission regarding the recipient country or organisation, or the implementation of appropriate safeguards. Such safeguards may take the form of legally binding agreements between public authorities, binding corporate rules, standard data protection clauses adopted by the Commission, or approved codes of conduct.
The 2024 Act repealed the Data Protection Act 2018, which, under Sections 48 and 49, generally prohibited cross-border data transfers, except where adequacy decisions or certain derogations applied.

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

Act No. 18 of 2024 establishes a comprehensive data protection framework in Botswana, repealing and re-enacting the Data Protection Act of 2018 with substantial amendments. While the 2018 Act regulated data controllers and processors, emphasised consent, and introduced data subject rights alongside restrictions on direct marketing, sensitive data, and cross-border transfers, the 2024 Act expands its scope to include both automated and non-automated processing. It introduces specific provisions for handling sensitive personal data and imposes additional conditions for lawful processing, such as data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, and accountability. In addtion, it mandates Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the appointment of Data Protection Officers (DPOs), and stricter penalties for non-compliance. Although the Act broadly aligns with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it diverges by introducing custodial sentences of three to twelve years for particular offences.