The Minister of Transport has indicated that subject to adherence to the necessary hygiene and sanitation requirements, testing stations will be open for business from 1 June.
Johannesburg – After nine weeks of lockdown, there’s good news for motorists, particularly those who need to register or deregister a motor vehicle.
The Minister of Transport has indicated that subject to adherence to the necessary hygiene and sanitation requirements, testing stations will be open for business from 1 June.
Julian Pillay, national director for the Vehicle Testing Association (VTA), an association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), says VTA members, which represent testing stations nationally, have already indicated to their various Provincial Departments of Transport that they have implemented these measures and will be ready to resume operations.
Pillay explains that in some provinces, authorities have already conducted physical inspections to ensure compliance and have received guidelines detailing conditions under which vehicle testing can take place. This includes limitations on the number of vehicles to be tested on a daily basis.
Huge backlog
“An important point to bear in mind is that test station users of the Natis system have not accessed Natis in more than nine weeks. There may, therefore, be several delays at some stations during the first few days while all the Natis users are reinstated. It is best to contact your local test station to make sure that they are online or contact your regional RMI office first to check if their local VTA testing station is open,” Pillay says.
Along with the opening of testing stations, the good news is that all licenses and roadworthy certificates, as well as learners’, driving and temporary drivers’ licences that expired during the period starting on 26 March and ending on 31 May 2020, are deemed to be valid and their validity period is further extended by 90 days as from 1 June 2020.
For Motor Dealers and those who use Trade Plates, these are also deemed to be valid in the same way, but their validity period is extended for a further grace period of 6 months from the date of publication of these directions (6 months from 20 May 2020).
At least, consumers will now be able to trade in cars and make purchases with more confidence knowing that the automotive value chain and all roleplayers are firing up.
