The Bureau is faced with the challenge of ensuring that the products whether produced in Zanzibar or imported to comply with the developed standards. The primary role of ZBS is to develop, promote and enforce standards in order to ensure health and safety of the consumers while building confidence to manufactures and traders for their goods and services in the markets hence influence economic development of the country. These roles are:-

1. Establish, publish, promote, amend or modify from Time to time an updated version of a standard for the quality, quantities and units of measurement to be used, which shall in conformity with the latest version of the international system of units;
2. Undertake measures for quality control, quality assurance and certification of commodities, services and environment of all descriptions and to promote standardization in industry and trade;
3. Make arrangements or provide facilities for the examination and testing of commodities and any material or substance from or with which, and the manner in which, they may be manufactured, produced, processed or treated;
4. Make arrangements or provide for the testing and calibration of precision instruments, gauges and scientific apparatus, for the determination of their degree of accuracy and traceability by comparison with standards approved by the Minister on the recommendation of the Board;
5. Provide for the inspection, sampling and testing of locally produced, manufactured, agricultural and imported commodities with a view to deter whether the commodities comply with the provisions of this Act or any other law dealing with standards relevant to those commodities;
6. Establish, maintain and recognize laboratories for the purposes of standardization and quality control and for such other purposes as may be prescribed;
7. Recognize any accredited any approved institution in Zanzibar or outside which is engaged in the standardization of any article or process or the improvement of the quality of any article or process;
8. Cooperate with other government agencies, representatives of any industry or any other statutory corporation or person with a view securing the adoption and practical application of standards;
9. Cooperate with regional and international organizations in all matters related to standardization and quality assurance and represents the country in such matters.
10. Collect, publish and disseminate information and other materials on standardization and other related subjects and to provide facilities for the members of the public to have access to the materials;
11. Make such inspection and take such samples of any material or substance as may be necessary to see whether any article or process in relation to which the Standard Mark has been improperly used in relation to any article or process with or without a licence;
12. Encourage or undertake advocacy in connection with standardization, quality assurance, metrology, testing and environment packaging;
13. Grant, renew, suspended or cancel a license for the use of the Standard mark;
14. Charge fees in respect of the setting and issuing of a National Standard, and in respect of the training or services rendered in connection with standardization or with any standards, and in regard to the provision of any services rendered or product provided; and
15. Perform such other functions as may be prescribed by the Board

For the purpose of better carrying on its functions The Zanzibar bureau of standards is required to be guided apart from the law but several regulations. For the time being Zanzibar Bureau of Standards has three regulations thus :-

• The Zanzibar Standard Certification Regulation
• The Zanzibar Standard Compulsory Batch Certification of imports
• The Zanzibar Standard Tested Products Regulations