News / National
Zim vehicle importers face bleak future as Botswana bans 2nd-hand vehicles on its roads
02 Apr 2013 at 13:03hrs | Views
Zimbabwe's second hand car dealers face a bleak future following the announcement by Botswana's government that it is banning imported second-hand vehicles with more than five years on its roads.
Car dealers and other individuals who import vehicles from Europe via Walvis Bay in Namibia will have to load them on carriers.
Some Zimbabwean dealers have been driving the vehicles through Botswana to the Plumtree border post to minimise costs.
Hiring carriers from Walvis Bay through Namibia and Botswana will however cost between US$1 000 and US$1 500 more, depending on the type and size of the vehicle.
The move is also likely to affect hundreds of Zimbabweans who had found easy employment by driving the vehicles from Walvis Bay at fees ranging between US$250 and US$300 for the trip.
According to a Namibian newspaper, Botswana Unified Revenue Service is now enforcing the Southern Africa Customs Union agreement, which prohibits the use and registration of imported second-hand vehicles more than five years old.
Botswana says it is enforcing the agreement in the spirit of good neighbourliness and adherence to the provisions of the SACU treaty.
Botswana also says the regulation aims at curtailing irregularities prevailing in the movement of second-hand vehicles through its borders and Namibia.
The value used for the calculation of duty and tax is 86 percent of all charges and expenses incurred incidental to the purchase of the vehicle and its transportation up to the place of importation.
One car dealer is quoted as saying cars will be more expensive.
Some are opting to use the traditional Durban port, saying it is closer, while others are now opting for the Tanzanian port.
Car dealers and other individuals who import vehicles from Europe via Walvis Bay in Namibia will have to load them on carriers.
Some Zimbabwean dealers have been driving the vehicles through Botswana to the Plumtree border post to minimise costs.
Hiring carriers from Walvis Bay through Namibia and Botswana will however cost between US$1 000 and US$1 500 more, depending on the type and size of the vehicle.
The move is also likely to affect hundreds of Zimbabweans who had found easy employment by driving the vehicles from Walvis Bay at fees ranging between US$250 and US$300 for the trip.
Botswana says it is enforcing the agreement in the spirit of good neighbourliness and adherence to the provisions of the SACU treaty.
Botswana also says the regulation aims at curtailing irregularities prevailing in the movement of second-hand vehicles through its borders and Namibia.
The value used for the calculation of duty and tax is 86 percent of all charges and expenses incurred incidental to the purchase of the vehicle and its transportation up to the place of importation.
One car dealer is quoted as saying cars will be more expensive.
Some are opting to use the traditional Durban port, saying it is closer, while others are now opting for the Tanzanian port.
Source - zbc
