Linden Police meet with second hand dealers
LINDEN – Second hand businesses will be shut down if they do not meet requirements.
Second-hand dealers met with the Linden Police to make sure they are on the right side of the law.
Captain Alex Vermaak from the Linden Police Station met with second-hand dealers of the area on 26 April.
He informed business owners about compliance and rules they have to follow. Second-hand business owners are required to have a certificate in second-hand dealing issued by the police station free of charge.
In order to receive this certificate, business owners have to hand in a sketch plan of their facility, a Sars certificate, a business registration certificate as well as ID copies and fingerprints of all the employees.
The second-hand goods officer Sergeant Bheki Marsh will take it upon himself to go to businesses to take fingerprints of the employees.
Captain Vermaak said that each dealer must be part of an association that deals with the kind of goods that they trade in. He said that everything that they sell, must be registered. They should also be able to trace it back to the seller. If a business trades in more than one category, for instance a general dealer and a jeweler, the business must have certificates for both categories. If businesses do not meet requirements, their businesses will be shut down as a few others have been in the past.
Second-hand motor dealers were urged to follow the rules precisely because registration plates and the licence disks can be duplicated. So it is vital that car dealers buy from legitimate sellers.
“We urge people to bring their IDs when they come to trade with us,” said Atkinson and Atkinson shop owner Pamela Atkinson.
New managers will also have to be registered and only permanent residents of South Africa are allowed to own second-hand goods businesses.
The businesses were concerned and said this has been done before but the police did not follow up.
“Station Commander, Colonel Balaraman Govindasamy is strict about the compliance of second-hand businesses and we will be following up,” said Captain Vermaak.
These businesses in and around the Linden area can expect a knock on their doors for an inspection to check if everything complies with the Second Hand Goods Act.
Captain Vermaak mentioned his disappointment in the attendance as every business was notified about the meeting. Only seven owners out of the 69 that were invited, attended.
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