Bennie Botha from Bethulie wrote to SuperSpark about this Act, asking what dealers had to do to comply with it.

Bennie writes,

Dear SuperSpark, it seems that quite a few of my friends in the industry have recently received fines after inspections of their premises and registers by members of the SAP.

What do we need to do to comply with the Act?

Kind regards,

Bennie

Dear Bennie,

You raise a serious concern. The Second-hand Goods Act requires that all dealers dealing in used cars register their dealerships and keep proper records of their used car acquisitions and disposals. These records need to be kept for a minimum period of five years.

Dealers should ensure that they understand chapter 5 of this Act and act accordingly.

Owners and/or dealer principals must appoint a designated employee to update these on a daily basis and to make sure it is done daily, as a member of the SAP can visit your dealership - without advance warning - for the purpose of checking your register (to see if it complies as prescribed) and to check the vehicles on your floor or storage facility.

Members with more than one showroom and/or storage facility must ensure that separate registers are kept for each facility.

On the date of inspection, dealers can be fined for every vehicle on their floor or in storage not noted in the register and also for every vehicle that is noted in the register and not in the showroom.

If a vehicle is moved between different showrooms, it must be noted so.

Members are encouraged to build a relationship with their local SAP office and to ensure that they know what they need to do.

Fines can be as much as R500 for every entry that is missing from the registers.

Criminal record
Please note: A dealer normally receives a summons to appear in court with an option to pay a fine.

Even if he pays the fine, which constitutes admission of guilt, the dealer could incur a criminal record!

But all is not doom and gloom. Watch this space for information on exemptions in terms of the Act applying to IDA Dealer Members.

Gotta fly now!

Best until next time,

SuperSpark