Deadline for used car imports stands

By Tsungirirai Dhambuza

Second hand car dealers and individuals are left with only two months to import vehicles that are more than five years old as the June 30 midnight deadline is fast approaching and will be upheld, a senior Government official has said.

The ban also extends to cars with tinted windows and left-hand drive vehicles. Government has vowed to start implementing its decision to ban the importation of second-hand vehicles that are five years and above on July 1.

In an interview yesterday, Secretary for Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development, Partson Mbiriri reiterated the position would not change. “This is important for people to know. The position is not going to change,” he said.

Mr Mbiriri said delay in freight and importation procedures were going to be handled by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

“On vehicles that will arrive at the boarders after the June 30 deadline, each case will be considered on its merit. Zimra will make such decisions on when the car was bought and the dates of arrival,” Mr Mbiriri said.

The implementation follows the announcement in the Government Gazette on April 1 2011 of Statutory Instrument 44 of 2011 (2) section 1 (2) (“Title and date of commencement of the Road Traffic (construction, equipment and use) Regulations, 2010, published in Statutory Instrument 154 of 2010 as amended by the deletion of 1st of December, 2010”), and the substitution of 1st of July, 2011.

Government in September last year gazetted Statutory Instrument 154 of 2010 (Road Traffic Construction), which provided that vehicles that have been on the road for at least five years would not be allowed to enter the country after March 31 this year.

The statutory instrument says in part: “No person shall import any vehicle for registration and use on any road in Zimbabwe if the year of manufacture from the country of origin is more than five years. Provided that this shall not apply to any motor vehicle registered in Zimbabwe before the 31st of March, 2011.”

The statutory instrument also stipulates that left-hand drive vehicles would not be registered after March 31 2011 and would be banned from Zimbabwean roads by December 31 2015. Left-hand drive vehicles are considered technically unsuitable for Zimbabwe’s roads.

It also stated that each vehicle would be obliged to have two reflective breakdown triangles by December 1 this year. The ban, which was initially set for March 31 this year before being extended to June 30 is now set to be effected end of June this year.

Second hand Japanese cars, or gray imports, have become popular with Zimbabweans over the years as they are cheaper than those assembled locally. The proposed ban has drawn widespread criticism from the public who say it would condemn many of them to public transport.

Last year, a Government official said the ban would prevent the country from becoming a dumping ground for unroadworthy vehicles. International case studies indicate that importing second-hand cars has negative effects to the receiving economy.

The major aim of the ban is to ensure that the vehicles that are imported have residual value that will benefit the importer, users and the economy of Zimbabwe, given that the best practice of international accounting is that light motor vehicles (for example) are amortised at five years.

Therefore, a vehicle that is more than five years old, in spite of having been reconditioned, in terms of international accounting practice, would have reached its peak and the residual value would, therefore, be less and thus compromising benefit to the country of destination.

The demand of second-hand vehicles is very high in Zimbabwe in as much as the Japanese used vehicles have flooded the region pulling down prices