The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has said that all certificates of road worthiness issued for used vehicles will now be valid for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of issue.
According to UNBS Executive Director David Livingstone Ebiru, the move is aimed at promoting standards and good practices in inspection and licensing of second hand motor vehicles.
“Effective 01st September, 2021, any used motor vehicle accompanied by CRWs beyond twelve (12) months from the date of issue shall be subjected to destination inspection, which involves physical inspection and payment of only inspection fees,” Mr Ebiru announced.
The valid certificates of road worthiness (CRW) are provided by the UNBS appointed Agents for Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) i.e EAA Company Ltd and Quality Inspection Services Japan (QUISJ).
Within its mandate, UNBS has the duty to inspect goods imported into the country to ensure that they conform to mandatory standards.
UNBS requires that second hand vehicles are inspected for conformity to Uganda Standards before being exported from the country of origin in what is known as Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC).
After that, cars that pass the inspection will be issued with a certificate of roadworthiness to allow them in the country during importation.
The inspection is being done by three companies namely: -Bureau Veritas, Intertek and SGS. They carry out inspections on behalf of UNBS in the countries where the imports originate from.
Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to standards ensure that the safety hazards inherent to the specific product (such as mechanical, electrical, thermal, fire or explosion, chemical, biological or radiation hazards) are contained before they get out of control.
It also checks the severity of the hazard, homogeneity of the consignment; ensures goods in a container are of consistent quality all through to the final buyer and end user with respect to value for money.