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Oliver Kazunga

Senior Business Reporter

THE Government has included the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) among the three entities it has roped in to implement its enhanced imports quality assessment initiative, the Consignment Based Conformity Assessment (CBCA) programme.

In 2016, the Government signed a four-year contract with a French-based firm — Bureau Veritas, to offer pre-shipment inspection services on imports to avert the dumping of sub-optimal products into the country.

The Government has since renewed its contract with Bureau Veritas while three more service providers namely SAZ, Cotecna Inspection Societe Anonyme (SA) of Switzerland and the EAA Company Limited of Japan have been added to enhance the CBCA programme.

To facilitate full implementation of the CBCA initiative, SAZ has been appointed as the provider for destination inspection services of imported goods and vehicles to verify their conformity to standards once they arrive at the country’s borders without pre-shipment inspection certificates.

SAZ said the destination inspection programme commenced on June 1 this year.

The involvement of SAZ in the CBCA project entails that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce no longer issue exemption letters for all consignments shipped to Zimbabwe without the necessary pre-shipment inspection certificates.

“The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has appointed SAZ as the destination inspection service provider for verification of conformity once goods and vehicles arrive at ports of entry without the necessary pre-shipment inspection certificates (CoCs).

“The destination inspections will be conducted at ports of entry, warehouses, client premises or any designated location as deemed suitable prior to final customs clearance of goods and motor vehicles,” said SAZ.

Conditions for destination inspection entail that the goods, motor vehicle spares and vehicles have to be controlled under Statutory Instrument (SI) 24 of 2020 and/or successive legislature.

Under the General Goods category, imports listed under SI 124 of 2020 include medicaments, electrical and children’s toys.

SAZ said the goods, motor vehicle spares and vehicles, as part of the conditions, must have arrived in Zimbabwe without the necessary pre-shipment inspection certificates.

“Destination inspection shall be applicable to all motor vehicles without pre-shipment certificates regardless of FOB (Free on Board) value.

“Destination inspection shall be applicable to goods and vehicle spare parts of a minimum FOB value of US$1 000,” it said.

The enhanced CBCA programme came about following a successful review of the earlier programme, which included incorporation of sentiments from the business sector, regulators, Government and quasi-government departments.

Since its establishment in 2015, the CBCA has achieved a lot of goals in terms of curbing the influx of substandard imported products.

Official figures from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce indicate that about five million sub-optimal products were refused entry in Zimbabwe through the pre-export verification programme.