10 year old second-hand car import ban in Zimbabwe clarified

The Control of Goods(Import and Export)(Commerce)(Amendment) Regulations, 2021 has ascertained that vehicle importation will no longer be as easy as it was. Any second-hand vehicles older than 10 years that will be entering Zimbabwe will now need to present specific import licenses. The proof of payment associated with the purchasing of the vehicle will be needed to produce the required licenses. This was made effective from the 2nd of April 2021.

The amendment to the first schedule of the original regulations was made by Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza in Statutory Instrument 89 of 2021 gazetted on Friday. 

It has been realised that many light vehicles with a moderate mileage that are over the ten year mark are usually roadworthy at first but their faults usually escalate rapidly. The challenge then becomes that the vehicle owners and Zimbabwe will face a huge import bill in trying to acquire spare parts for the vehicles.

However, it should be noted that although  it is not yet certain what criteria will be used to determine if an older vehicle can still be imported, this is not a ban but rather a check to ascertain the road-worthiness of imported vehicles.

This measure in which permission to import every light second-hand vehicle over 10 years old is sought out, tallies with the National Development Strategy 1, which highlights the importance of value addition and encourages effective standards, regulations and use of roadworthy vehicles that meet environmental and safety standards.

These licenses for importing cars, motorcycles and light trucks that are older than 10 years can applied for at the offices of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo, and Gweru.

Even outside the four older cities, people can contact ministry officials in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West and Matabeleland South if they have queries. An electronic licensing platform that can be used by importers and exporters has also been established.

Dr Sekai Nzenza clarified that commercial vehicles such as tractors, haulage trucks, earth-moving machines and other vehicles used in the mining and construction sectors will be exempt from this amendment. This means that those importing these commercial vehicles,even if they are older than 10 years, can still do so through the open general import license so that their only paperwork is just the customs clearance.

Vehicles will also still need to be checked for radioactivity if they have been imported from Japan. This was discussed at the National Budget 2020 last year when the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube expressed that due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant accident it was necessary to check the radioactivity of these vehicles.

Thus far, no vehicles have proved to have been radioactive as noone has sourced vehicles from the Fukushima area for sale in Zimbabwe.