Namibia denies a ban on second-hand vehicle imports

ALAN PEAT IN A report just released to FTW by the Trade Law Centre (tralac), the Namibian government has rejected media speculation that the country has completely banned the importation of second-hand vehicles. The Namibian minister of trade and industry, Jesaya Nyamu, has told Windhoek’s New Era that the importation of second-hand motor vehicles that are not older than five years is still permitted - while imports for those that are older than five years are allowed from countries such as SA, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Nyamu explained that the government had instituted regulatory measures to deal with fraudulent business activities that were detected in the automotive industry. This especially with motor vehicle imports from outside the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) where importers were undervaluing motor vehicles to escape import tariffs.