Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)

Used motor vehicles imported from Japan will be now be inspected on the spot before being brought into the country, to comply with the regulation on pre-shipment verification on conformity to standards (PVoC).

Saidi Mkwawa, the import and export control manager at the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) said at a press conference yesterday that henceforth vehicle inspection will be conducted by EAA Co. Ltd based in Japan.

“Inspection charges are $150 per vehicle, thus no extra cost is involved,” he said, noting that vehicles bought and being exported or loaded on ships before yesterday will be inspected by TBS without additional charges.

PVoC is designed to stem repair costs to vehicle buyers, he stated, elaborating that the bureau is seeking out other vehicle inspection agents in the UK, Dubai and Singapore. Used vehicles importers and dealers will be notified when the agents are picked, he said.

On March 30, President Samia Suluhu Hassan queried the rationale for imported vehicle inspection upon arrival at the Dar es Salaam port, castigating the regulation as causing unnecessary delays for carrier ships.

As we do not manufacture any vehicles in Tanzania, an agency at their point of origin is better than doing it here, she had affirmed, pointing at the lack of potential value addition if a query arises.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa was tasked with sorting out the issue, by examining localized inspection as opposed to country of origin checks.

Back in April last year the TBS had embarked on inspection of vehicles at the Dar es Salaam port upon arrival, with owners paying $150 (346,500/-) as inspection fee.

The decision came after TBS was deemed to have built necessary capacity for vehicle inspections, “so it was only fair that they start practicing what they have been trained for at a great cost.”