Welcome to land of red tape

I raise this issue in a motoring column because it’s a motor car that has activated the tape and it was a Zimbabwean who asked me some three weeks ago to explain what’s involved in trying to import a car into RSA. The person who asked the question has already wisely decided to sell his car in Zimbabwe before he embarks on the great trek south to the land where ZESA works and potholes are a relative rarity, notwithstanding the voluble moaning of locals who find a hole the size of a five cent piece to be objectionable.
From what my questioner said, I’ve gathered there’s not too much first hand info available about the precise mechanics of importation, so here goes.   Rule one is that you cannot permanently import a car on a duty free basis until you have been granted permanent residence. 
The Home Despairs  (sorry I meant Home Affairs) website will tell you that in terms of some legislation passed when Vasco da Gama set sail from Portugal, a properly lodged application for permanent residence should be dealt with in 30 days.  The reality is that you should multiply that estimate by a minimum factor of nine. 
Now this procrastination has serious implications because you need a temporary import permit to get your car into RSA in the first place and that isn’t valid for longer than six months.  
The folk on the SA side at Beitbridge are getting extremely testy about extending the validity period so if you’ve moved to the coast, you’ll be faced with a mighty long drive just to exit the border, turn round and come back with a new temp permit. 
 And remember — if you’ve set up in Cape Town, you cannot head for the Namibian border which is just 25 percent of the distance to Beitbridge because Namibia is part of a common customs union so your permit cannot be re-issued there. I know of one ex-Harare resident who did actually drive all the way to the Orange River from Cape Town and discovered this to his cost and immense chagrin.  I don’t think he even had the pleasure of the Namaqualand daisies to assuage his fury.
Rule two says that you must have owned the car personally for more than a year before the vehicle is first brought into RSA.
So all those months you lurk around RSA waiting for per-manent residence don’t count!  
Right — let’s assume you’ve now qualified and have permanent residence or can prove you are a SA national who has lived outside RSA for more than six months.  Note that all comments apply to a vehicle which has not been purchased new in RSA and already had all duties and taxes paid. You first of all have to apply to the SABS (Standards Bureau) for a device called a Letter of Authority (LOA). The onus is on you to prove that your vehicle complies with what are extremely ill-defined SA “standards” which encompass safety features, emissions etc. These so-called standards are closely aligned to European Community regulations but there are thousands of these so you absolutely have to get an original letter from the manufacturer (not a dealer) of your car stating that it complies with all ECE regulations and conforms to SA specifications and that it’s RHD and has a speedo marked in km/h. The letter must state the VIN (chassis number) and all other relevant details of your vehicle.  Good luck. It took me nearly four months to get such a manuscript!
Submit this hard-to-acquire piece of paper together with a certified copy of your passport, a certified copy of your permanent residence permit, a certified copy of your vehicle registration book, a completed application form available off the SABS website and perhaps even a copy of the Florida Herald outlining all of Tiger Woods’ misdemeanours.
And most importantly, you’ll need to shell out R1 800 just to make sure the staff at SABS can make a living out of the red tape. In my case, this organisation’s Cape Town branch was speedy and efficient. While you’re doing all this, you must apply to an organisation in Pretoria called ITAC for an import licence!   They want most of the same papers as SABS except for the “compliance” letter so you’ll get to know the staff at the local cop shop rather well as they certify the same papers time and again. ITAC’s application form is also available off their website and all the nitty gritties are clearly ununciated.
It’s hard to believe that Christmas will be upon us next week so while I take a rest until early in the New Year, may I wish all of you a most enjoyable festive season and safe motoring over the holidays.  Thank you for reading Top Gear in 2009 and just to show that you really do care about cars, why not give yours a really good clean and polish while you’ve got a little time on your hands.
(To be continued next week)