Non-Tariff Barriers

Complaint

Complaint number

NTB-000-624  

NTB Type

8.6. Vehicle standards  

Complaint

This complaint is registered by FESARTA.
A Zambian transport company has 6 vehicles carrying copper into Zimbabwe, detained at the Vic Falls weighbridge, because “the exhaust is pointing down to the ground “ and it must be “up in the air “ according to an official on duty.
The vehicles are manufactured by Mercedes Benz and, for these vehicles; the exhaust is designed to point to the ground.
This exhaust position is perfectly within the law in Zambia where the vehicles are registered. Zimbabwe should respect and accept the Zambian standards.
This action taken by the Zimbabwean official is unacceptable and the Focal point is requested to explain if this is a violation of Zimbabwean law. It is suggested that urgent action be taken to allow the truck to continue with its journey and also to facilitate movement of goods.  

Status note

On 19 March 2014, Zimbabwe reported that the trucks were released on the same day and the owner was advised to contact the manufacturer (Mercedes Benz) to adjust the exhaust as required by Zimbabwean Law. The requirement is in terms of the Construction, Equipment and Use Regulations promulgated under the Road Traffic Act [Chapter13:11] uploaded onto the system.

However, the Ministry of Transport indicated that they shall not enforce this requirement on foreign registered trucks as long as this is not in their domestic legislation. Zimbabwe is expected to issue a formal notification to this effect to enable enforcement of the said exemption on foreign trucks.  

Progress update note

 

Policy or regulatory NTB

No 

Location

Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls (Border post)  

Reporting Country or Region

Zambia  

Country specific trade issue

No  

Date of incident

2014-02-18  

Status

Resolved  

Date of resolution

2014-03-19  

Product Description

Copper

Computer-assisted translation

• English
• Arabic
• French
• Portuguese

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Total value

0  

Date reported

2014-02-18 21:13  

Modified

2014-03-22 16:03