Locally assembled, imported old vehicles: EDB issues safety, quality and environmental standards

ISLAMABAD: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) has issued notifications regarding the adoption of safety, quality, and environmental standards for imported vehicles less than five years old and locally assembled vehicles aimed at safeguarding the consumers.

In its separate notifications shared with the Ministry of Commerce and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the EDB explained that four dozen standards and conditions have been made for the locally assembled vehicles and vehicles less than five years old that will be imported on a commercial basis.

Pakistan’s auto sector: safety, quality rules for imported and locally produced vehicles notified

In addition to the approved standards the following conditions shall also apply on the commercial import of used vehicles, namely:- (i) no person other than a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2017 with import of vehicles as its principal line of business shall be allowed to import vehicles on commercial basis; (ii) the minimum capital requirement of such a company shall be such as may be decided by the Federal Cabinet on the basis of intended scale of its business; (iii) every such company shall import used vehicles through regular banking channel, maintain complete record of all imported motor vehicles in the interest of transparency, and establish a sufficiently robust network for providing after sale services including firm assurance in relation to the availability of spare parts throughout the anticipated useful life of the imported vehicle to the satisfaction of the Engineering Development Board; (iv) the importer shall provide a pre-shipment inspection certification from an accredited body such as Japan Automotive Appraisal Institute (JAAI), Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre (JEV1C), Korean Testing Laboratory (KTL), China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI), or any other accredited institute designated by the Engineering Development Board, verifying that the used vehicle meets the aforementioned regulations or their equivalent standards; (v) the said certification shall also clearly mention that the imported used vehicle has not met an accident, its odometer is not replaced or tempered, the interior is tidy without staining, exterior is clean with no bumps or dimples, engine condition is sound with exhaust emissions and noise lower than permissible level, wind shield and glasses have no cracks or breakage, it is otherwise road worthy with required number of air-bags installed and has verified manufacturing date and; (vi) with a view to deal with emerging situations, the Engineering Development Board may add any other area on which a pre-shipment certification shall be required; and every imported used vehicle shall also be subject to a third-party post-shipment inspection through an appropriate facility designated by the Engineering Development Board at the cost of importer. For local assemblers for the removal of any ambiguity, EDB has clarified that the following UNECE’s WP29 Regulations for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts have already been applied to all relevant categories of motor vehicles manufactured or assembled in Pakistan under the SRO 656 (1) 2006, namely:- (i) Regulation Number 13 concerning braking of vehicles of categories M, N and O with regard to braking; (ii) Regulation Number 13H concerning braking of passenger cars; (iii) Regulation Number 14 concerning safety-belt anchorages; (iv) Regulation Number 16 concerning safety belts, restraint systems, child restraint systems and ISOFIX child restraint systems for occupants of power-driven vehicles; (v) Regulation Number 17 concerning seats, their anchorages and any head restraints; (vi) Regulation Number 18 concerning protection against unauthorized use of motor vehicles; (vii) Regulation Number 25 concerning approval of head restraints (headrests), whether or not incorporated in vehicle seats; (viii) Regulation Number 30 concerning pneumatic tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers; (ix) Regulation Number 43 concerning safety glazing materials and their installation on vehicles; (x) Regulation Number 46 concerning devices for indirect vision and of motor vehicles with regard to the installation of these devices; (xi) Regulation Number 48 concerning installation of lighting and light signalling devices; (x) Regulation Number 79 concerning approval of vehicles with regard to steering equipment; (xi) Regulation Number 94 concerning protection of occupants in the event of a frontal collision; (xii) Regulation Number 95 concerning protection of the occupants in the event of a lateral collision; (xiii) Regulation Number 114 concerning an Airbag Module fora Replacement Airbag System, a replacement steering wheel equipped with an Airbag Module, a Replacement Airbag System other than that installed in a steering wheel; (xvi) Regulation Number 121 concerning location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators; and (xvii) Regulation Number 135 concerning approval of vehicles with regards to their Pole Side Impact (PSI) performance.

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