BUREAU OF STANDARDS WORKING TO ENSURE SAFETY OF IMPORTED CARS

The St. Lucia Bureau of Standards, used and new car dealers and the Department of Transport are working together on a pre-shipment inspection initiative for vehicles imported into the country for the purpose of protecting the rights and safety of importers and consumers. The matter was discussed at the Bureau of Standards Office this week.
The St. Lucia Bureau of Standards engaged vehicle importers in consultation on plans to implement a pre shipment inspection program. Under the program the purchaser can access a website, and then indicate the destination of a motor vehicle. The website will then indicate the inspection requirement. The US 150 dollar inspection fee will be included in the final cost to the importer. Once the vehicle arrives in St. Lucia t he Bureau will then vet the inspection certificate and will give customs the all clear to release the vehicle. It’s possible that a vehicle may be imported without a certificate. In that case the Bureau will ensure that the vehicle is inspected here to ensure that it is road worthy before leaving the port. The inspection fee will remain the same but this time the seller will have to bear the expense
Among the benefits of having a vehicle inspected before it leaves the country of export is that any technical flaws discovered there will have to be repaired by the exporter whereas the if the vehicle arrives in St. Lucia without an inspection certificate the importer will have to bear that burden. The Bureau of Standards is collaborating with the international EAK Inspection Body which has branches in Japan, Singapore, Dubai, the UK and the US. Most of the used vehicles come from the UK, US or Japan. The Consumer Affairs department has been receiving reports of faulty vehicles being purchased by local importers. The new arrangement is expected to clamp down on this problem
The Department of Transport is working on the legislation which is expected to come into effect in the next eight weeks
The same rule applies to both privately imported vehicles and those imported for commercial use

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