Importing Japanese used cars to Namibia, Africa

Namibian import regulations change

Namibia Police announced in Autumn 2006 that vehicles bought or imported from a foreign country would no longer be cleared for registration in the country without the original clearance certificate from the country of origin.

The regulations have been the norm for many years for vehicles bought from neighbouring countries such as Swaziland or Lesotho or South Africa, but vehicles imported from overseas from places like Japan are subject to Interpol clearance which takes about three days.

How to import a car from Japan

First obtain an import permit from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Then pay import duties and VAT to the Customs Division of the Ministry of Finance.

After this, the company apply for the Interpol clearance with the customs paid document (known as the IM4) and the release order from customs.

Once the police clearance is obtained, get a roadworthy certificate from NATIS, which also inspects the engine and chassis numbers before registering the vehicle.

NATIS requires the police clearance, customs release and payment receipt, roadworthy certificate and original de-registration certificate from the country of export before registering the vehicle.

If the de-registration is in a foreign language, NATIS requires a sworn translation from a registered translator.