Art. 8 of Decree-Law No. 14-1961 prohibits foreigners from engaging in certain specified business activities, such as wholesale distribution and retail trading, except where the Minister of Trade grants a waiver. Foreigners wishing to engage in commercial activity are required to obtain a foreigner’s trading permit from the Minister of Commerce. This applies to any form of provision of commerce, including e-commerce. This text has not been revised since 1985.

It is reported that there are restrictions on international payments due to Tunisia’s foreign exchange regulations as well as the non-convertibility of the TND. Tunisian credit cards are not approved for transactions in currencies other than the TND and, therefore, cannot be used for purchases made on foreign commercial internet sites. This prevents Tunisian residents from making transactions on international e-commerce sites such as eBay, Amazon, and AliExpress unless they obtain a “Digital Technology Charge Card” issued by the Government. This card was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy with Circular 2015-5 of the Tunisian Central Bank. The card can be obtained only by Tunisians with college degrees, and it allows cardholders to make online purchases of software, mobile applications, web services, and publications in support of entrepreneurial activities. Individual users are limited to TND 1,000 (approx. USD 377) in annual purchases (Art. 1). The program has been expanded to include Tunisian IT companies, which are allotted up to TND 10,000 (approx. USD 3,770) annually to purchase online services, including server hosting and freelance programming services.

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

Decree No. 94-1744 was implemented by the Order of the Minister of Trade and Crafts of 15 September 2005, which amended the Order of the Minister of National Economy of 30 August 1994 to define the list of products subject to technical import control. Arts. 3–10 of the Decree establish a technical import control system, which varies depending on the nature of the product. There are three types of controls, generally conducted at the point of clearance before Customs authorises release:
- List A products are subject to systematic control;
- List B products require a certificate of compliance;
- List C products must meet specific technical specifications.
For List A products—such as telecommunications equipment and computers—technical control is systematic and may take different forms, including a desk review of documents, sample testing, physical inspection of goods, or laboratory analysis. However, reports indicate that the specific procedures for control are unclear, granting discretionary power to technical control authorities. Additionally, it is reported that controls are not based on risk analysis, Tunisian technical norms have not been notified to the WTO.

Arts. 5-9 of Circular 94-14 prohibits the export of foreign currency from Tunisia as payment for imports prior to the presentation of documents to the importer’s bank confirming shipment of the merchandise from the country of origin. In addition, the Central Bank of Tunisia prohibits Tunisian purchasers from using foreign currency to pay for specific imported goods until their banks confirm that they have sufficient foreign currency in their accounts. It is reported that these requirements are a source of confusion and difficulty for some foreign companies.

It is reported that customs processing remains cumbersome. The inconsistent application of customs processes within the Tunisian Customs Administration is reported to be a significant obstacle for importers. Risk management and other targeting activities are primarily conducted manually, involving the review of large volumes of entry documents in paper form.

In October 2022, Tunisia introduced mandatory import licences for 130 product categories, including webcams. The list of affected products was published by the Tunisian Ministry of Trade and Export Development; however, the measure was neither published in the Official Journal of Tunisia nor notified to the WTO.
Under this measure, importers seeking to bring any of the covered goods into Tunisia must first obtain an import licence from the relevant Tunisian ministry. To do so, they must submit an importation file to the competent authorities. This application file must include several documents, such as:
- A certificate issued by an official authority of the exporting country attesting to the legal status of the factory and its operating licence;
- Proof that the factory has a quality control system (e.g., a certificate detailing established quality procedures, ISO standards, or self-certification);
- A list of the products to be imported, among other required documents.
Additionally, Tunisian authorities reserve the right to request further documentation to verify the quality and safety of imported goods or to require product samples for inspection. There are no clear or publicly available deadlines for processing these applications. Based on available information, processing times may range from 48 hours to four months.

The specifications for the exercise of the profession of commercial advertising agent, as set out in the "Order of the Minister of Commerce and the Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation of 17 April 2020", require natural persons or legal representatives of legal entities wishing to exercise the profession of commercial advertising agent to hold a national licence or its equivalent or to have completed two years of higher education and to provide evidence of at least one year's professional experience in an advertising agency (Art. 3) and to be of Tunisian nationality (Art. 4). The specifications also require that the legal entity be subject to Tunisian law, be managed by Tunisians and that its foreign capital not exceed 50% (Art. 7). Arts. 6 and 8 of the specifications also require natural and legal persons to provide a bank guarantee. Annexe 2 of the specifications describes the types of activities carried out by commercial advertising agents, including digital communication agencies, which deal with the development of websites and online applications, the creation and management of online content, and the management of social media networks.

Art. 8 of Law No. 5 of 2004 Relating to Information Security stipulates that the profession of expert auditor in IT security requires a licence. This licence, as clarified in Art. 2 of Decree No. 2004-1249, is restricted to individuals of Tunisian nationality. In addition, in order offer such a service in Tunisia, a company needs to employ at least three nationally certified auditors.

All imports from Israel are banned. According to General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) document L/6713, Tunisia has not applied the GATT concerning Israel in accordance with the provisions of Art. 35 of this Agreement since the country's accession in 1990.

Tunisia has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

The Organic Act No. 63-2004 on the Protection of Personal Data provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Tunisia and sets up the National Authority of Data Protection (INPDP) in charge of its enforcement.

Art. 6 of Decree No. 54-2022 requires telecommunications service providers to keep data stored in their own information system for a period of no less than two years, including geolocation data, personal identification data, and traffic flow data. It is unclear if the information system has to be in the country or not.

Under Presidential Decree No. 2025-74 (29 January 2025), Tunisia extended the nationwide state of emergency until December 2025. The ongoing state of emergency has been in effect continuously since November 2015, and has been extended multiple times under the 1978 Emergency Decree (No. 78-50), which reportedly allows them to access electronic devices without a court order.

According to Art. 11(3–4) of Decree No. 4773-2014, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are required to “meet the requirements of the national defence, security and public safety in accordance with the legislation and regulation in force” and to “provide to the relevant authorities all the means necessary for the performance of [their] duties,” including complying with instructions issued by legal, military and national security authorities. In practice, this framework reportedly enables public authorities to require ISPs to cooperate as needed for security and law enforcement purposes, which may involve the disclosure of customers’ information.