No matter how long you keep an illegal vehicle in your possession, it never becomes legal, warned the International Vehicle Identification Desk (IVID) Southern Africa.
According to Lee Dutton, the Executive Director of IVID Southern Africa, a recent article issued by Business Against Crime stated that all illegally imported vehicles are seized by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and are destroyed (compacted) by government. Dutton and the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) urged citizens not to even consider buying an illegal vehicle.
“While some people who have bought an illegal vehicle try to register the vehicle as ‘built-up’ locally, their origins are invariably discovered over time and the vehicle is then seized. At some point in time, in a road block or when given attention by the authorities for any reason, the owner will be asked to produce proof of the vehicle’s legitimacy. If it is registered as foreign, it may only remain in South Africa for a maximum of three months per annum, and passports and proof of residence in the foreign state can be requested, as can temporary import permits (TIPs).”
Jakkie Olivier, CEO of the RMI, said it is a very complicated issue but ultimately the banning of the importation of vehicles in South Africa was done to protect local manufacturers.
“We have seen cases in other countries where the importation of foreign vehicles has decimated the local market.”
He said often vehicles are brought into the country under the guise that they are only in transit and heading onward to another country.
“But really they are being dumped in South Africa and sold illegally. There is also a cloning practice where the identity of a legitimately scrapped vehicle is stolen and used for a matching imported vehicle. We often see this with a specific model, which has a direct impact on that model in the local market.”
According to an article by the Citizen online, the Herald’s mother newspaper, SARS destroyed imported illegal vehicles valued close to R4 million as part of a clampdown on non-compliance in various customs sectors.
With some 87 per cent of all used vehicle imports into the region using SA ports, the country continues to be the focal point for this trade.
“The problem of controlling used vehicle imports and exports in the region continues to grow, despite various remedial actions taken since the late 1990s. Sadly, successful control regimes have been abandoned over time as the lessons leading to their introduction are forgotten due to high staff turnover, mostly due to re-organisation,” he said.
While the problem persists, Olivier urged motorists not to support this illegal activity and to buy ‘legal’.
Business Unity South Africa offered these additional tips:
• Never buy a vehicle advertised or displayed with foreign number plates.
• Never buy a vehicle that is registered in a foreign country – even our neighbouring countries. The probability of you being allowed to import the vehicle is very low.
• Never buy a vehicle without a NaTIS registration certificate. If the vehicle is financed, the registration certificate will be at the bank and will only be released when the vehicle is paid for in full.
• Check that the information on the registration certificate and/ or licence disc match with the information on the vehicle. Check that all the VIN/ chassis numbers on the vehicle match each other and have not been tampered with.
• Check for spelling mistakes on the registration certificate and that it is not a photo copy.
• It is strongly recommended that buyers of used motor vehicles should not buy a vehicle if a microdot confirmation certificate was not issued for the vehicle by a reputable accredited microdot fitment centre. All motor vehicles, locally manufactured or imported, registered for the first time in South Africa after 1 September 2012 must be microdotted. If a vehicle has not been fitted with microdots, it should be verified and so fitted. The Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009 makes it a requirement that second-hand motor vehicle dealers must record motor vehicle details, which includes the recording of the particulars on the microdot. This makes the microdot information readily available for verification.
