Paper chase

Soutpiel Safari
John & Jenny
Wed 6 Apr 2011 05:42
Tuesday 5 April 2011. Tandile, Broederstroom, South Africa
 
Now we have got the Land Rover clean I am engaged in getting it registered in South Africa.
 
We had already obtained a "Letter of Authority" from NRCS, a division of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). As Land Rover had been unable to give me a Certificate of Conformity for the vehicle (on account of it's age - 2003!!) the LOA was marked "subject to NRCS inspection".  Today's job was to have that inspection.
 
In spite of having an appointment, and being there on time, the NRCS Inspector kept me waiting an hour and a half but the inspection was routine.  He just needed to check the specification of all the window glass, all the lenses, the seat belts, the tyres and  the AC refrigerant.  Then I had to pay R50 for a "clean" copy of the LOA.  As most Government institutions no longer accept cash, I had to pay R50 into their bank account at ABSA and bring back a receipt.  This took another hour and a half - to find the bank and drive a 10 km round trip.
 
Then to Brits to the local vehicle licensing authority to check on the other documentation required, which turned out to be:
 
 - a certified copy of my passport
 - the UK registration document
 - a Police Identification check
 - a weighbridge certificate
 - the LOA from SABS
 - a Bill of Entry (SAD500) from Customs and Excise
and, of course, a four page application form!
 
I did the weighbridge certificate and then went to the Police.  That was fun - they had to verify the VIN number and the engine number from the vehicle against those on the registration paper.  it took us over an hour to find the engine number! I must say that the South African Police were extremely helpful and good natured about the whole exercise which was for them dirty, frustrating and time consuming.
 
So now all I need is the Customs document.  That's tomorrow's job and another early trip into Pretoria. Today took 170 kms of driving and its going to be much the same tomorrow.