Dr Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari
By Noimot Olayiwola
Tough penalties, including court injunction, await any importer or retailer of automobile tyres or spare parts which are found to be sub-standard or counterfeit products, a senior Qatari official has said.
The Ministry of Environment’s Laboratories and Standardisation Affairs division in co-operation with with the Consumer Protection Department (Ministry of Business and Trade) and the Traffic Department (Ministry of Interior) has banned with effect from September 15, the import of spare parts such as wheel rings, brake pads (Safaief) and safety belts, unless accompanied by a conformity certificate issued by an approved body from the country of origin to prove conformity with the approved Qatari standards.
Also, the new rule, formulated in a move to improve road safety, states that no import of tyres will be allowed unless they are accompanied by a Gulf conformity certificate and specifically to have a speed limit of 180km/h.
Import of balloon tyres is not allowed for passenger vehicles unless accompanied by a certificate of conformity with technical requirements specified in the Technical Regulations.
Part of the new standards also states that the sale and handling of used tyres shall be exclusively within the country as import is not allowed while its sale will be prohibited after 24 months of the manufacturing date for passenger cars, buses and light trucks and 30 months for heavy trucks.
Executive director of the Ministry of Environment’s Laboratories and Standardisation Affairs division, Dr Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari yesterday told Gulf Times on the heels of announcements made by his office: “We are going to tighten our measures on importation and sale of those items and traders will not be allowed to import into the country counterfeit spare parts or tyres. Anyone found wanting, especially after the September 15 deadline, will be firmly dealt with and heavily fined as well,” Dr al-Kuwari stated.
The official said the traders and retailers have been given a long notice period to allow them to put their house in order before the implementation of the new rule.
“We believe the two months notice is more than enough for them to ensure that all their products conform with our new standards and to dispose of any old stock found falling short of the new specifications as we will not tolerate any excuses after September 15,” he maintained.
Dr al-Kuwari mentioned that the authority will not hesitate to confiscate sub-standard stock and arraign the offender in court.
According to him, tyres could become bad if not stored properly thus putting the life of users in danger.
“Bad storage such as keeping tyres in the open under the sun is not in compliance with specifications. They should be kept in well-ventilated room and not piled on top of each other, as is the practice in some of the outlets,” he stressed.
While ensuring that all the new specifications and standard requirements are widely applicable, the official mentioned that regarding the sale of both new and old tyres, field inspectors were visiting sales outlets to check their quality and viability.
He maintained that outlets were required to issue six-month warranty certificate to buyers on purchase of used tyres.
“Used tyres that are in very good condition such as those changed immediately after purchasing a vehicle as desired by some people, could still be resold, however, buyers still have to check their viability and expiry,” the official maintained adding that: “Apart from ensuring that they get a warranty, buyers must ensure that the tyres they are purchasing are in good condition, especially used ones. This is in their own interest and for safety of other road users as well,” he said.