Times Of Swaziland: NO IMPORT PERMITS FOR ‘DUBAIS’ OLDER THAN 7 YEARS

NO IMPORT PERMITS FOR ‘DUBAIS’ OLDER THAN 7 YEARS
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 BY STANLEY KHUMALO on 16/09/2020 01:17:00


MANZINI – About E28 million has gone down the drain, so claims import car
dealerships.
This amount of money, according to the import car dealerships, will be lost due
to the twist in their trade in the country.
These entrepreneurs purport that the introduction of the Used Vehicles Import
Permit Specification Notice, 2020, has resulted in them being denied import
permits to bring into the country automobiles they had purchased leading to the
pronouncement of the new legislation.
The notice came into force on August 28, 2020 and it revoked Legal Notice No. 80
of 2012. The new notice was issued by Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg.
The import car dealerships are responsible for bringing into the country grey
cars, which were dubbed ‘Dubais’ from the early years of the millennium.
Distribution
According to freedictionary.com, grey import vehicles are new or used motor
vehicles and motorcycles legally imported from another country through channels
other than the maker’s official distribution system.
The proprietors of dealerships specialising in these vehicles claimed that the
E28 million was derived from the fact that they purchased between 500 and 1 100
units of automobiles per month.
The notice that was published in a Government Gazette compels import car
dealerships to only introduce into the country vehicles not older than seven
years. This has resulted in them seeking audience with Rijkenberg over the
challenges they, together with their clients, would face.
In light of the introduction of this legislation, some import car dealerships
claimed that last week, they were not awarded import permits for vehicles they
had ordered before the notice issued by the minister became law.
Permits
This, they claimed, had resulted in them being caught between a rock and a hard
place as they did not know how they were to bring the cars into the country.
Eswatini Import Car Dealership Association’s Imitiaz Sahi, speaking on behalf
of the industry players, claimed that he had engaged some proprietors in the
industry and they all claimed that they were not issued import permits but were
informed that the ministry was still consulting on whether they should be given
the permits.
Sahi claimed that he had gathered that there were over 1 000 automobiles that
were held at ports of entry that were yet to be brought into the country.
He stated that on average, 1 000 vehicles could amount to between E28 million
and E40 million. This, he purported, was because their import value varied and
so did the brands.
For example, he said: “To bring a Honda Fit into the country can cost about
E28 000 while bringing a BMW X1 can amount to over E90 000. So, the money we may
lose is too high.”
Developments
Sahi, as the association’s representative, claimed to have been informed of
the recent developments following the introduction of the new legislation.
“Some people have contacted me saying they were being turned away when seeking
import permits,” he said.
The import car dealership proprietor also said some of the car dealers had found
a notice at the offices where the import permits were granted, advising them to
note that if they intended to import a motor vehicle, it would not be approved
if the vehicle was older than seven years.
The notice pinned on the door reads: “Please note that if you intend to import
a motor vehicle, no import permit will be approved for an application for a
vehicle which is more than seven years.”
On the other hand, the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Finance,
Setsabile Dlamini, said: “Issuing (of import permits) under the new
regulations started this week. Of course, those who bought older models prior to
the new regulations will be able to get them into the country.”
This was after this publication had sought the ministry’s input on whether the
grievances raised by the import car dealerships were genuine and also, she was
asked to assist with information on whether the ministry had stopped granting
the import permits for same.
Dlamini was asked if there had been any notice informing the import car
dealership proprietors and or their agents that import permits were no longer
issued for vehicles that were older than seven years.
To this, she said: “There is no grace period necessarily, the ministry is just
anticipating that issues of those who had already purchased the cars prior to
the new regulations would have all run through the system in the next three
months.”
Informed
However, the dealers claimed they were not informed about the fact that they
could get permits if they had purchased the cars before the notice came into
effect.
They also alleged that some of them, upon learning of this new development, went
back to the ministry but were still turned back.
The dealers further claimed that most of the ordered cars were beyond the seven
years stipulated by government.
Meanwhile, leading to this, Eswatini Import Car Dealers Association had a
consultative meeting with Rijkenberg last Friday on the Used Motor Vehicles
Import Permit Specification Notice 2020. Rijkenberg confirmed that he had the
meeting with the dealerships association and said it was consultative and he
presented to them the reasons why government was pursuing the legislation.
The minister introduced the legislation to exercise controls on the age
restriction of the vehicles and his decision was based on Southern African
Customs Union (SACU) revenues.
It is anticipated that the country wants to enhance its share of SACU revenues
and for it to improve; more imports within SACU would result in improved
receipts for kingdom.
The minister said a number of things were shared during the consultation,
however, in order to have it on record, he requested that the car dealership
association present their mitigation plans through a written document.