The government, through the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), has outlined measures for the registration of vehicles bought through police auctions.
KEBS, in a notice dated Tuesday, April 1, noted that Kenyan laws prohibited the registration or importation of vehicles that are more than eight years of age from the first time of registration, with the same law applying to police auctioned vehicles.
However, while making the announcement, KEBS noted that special consideration could be given to vehicles bought through police auctions under specific conditions set out in the law.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, it may recommend to the Trade Cabinet Secretary, Lee Kinyanjui, to allow the registration of police auctioned vehicles that are more than eight years since their first registration.
Nonetheless, the review is only possible if the vehicle owner meets the set Waiver Evaluation Technical Criteria (WETC). WETC is a criterion that is used to determine whether a waiver meets applicable statutory, regulatory requirements.
As per KEBS regulations, a vehicle can only receive a registration waiver from the Ministry of Trade if it is in Kenya and under police custody.
Kenyans who purchased vehicles through police auctions and sought to register them were directed to submit their waiver application letter to KEBS.
A vehicle owner must also submit a multi-agency precaution report, a copy of a gazette notice by the National Police Service (NPS) listing the vehicle for auction, and a court order authorising the auction.
Additionally, an applicant is required to provide the auctioneer’s licence, the certificate of sale, and an Interpol clearance certificate.
“The Waiver Evaluation Technical Criteria (WETC) is publicly available on the KEBS website and covers, among other things, the criteria for evaluating police-auctioned vehicles for purposes of a waiver by the Cabinet Secretary,” read part of a statement by KEBS.
“Consequently, we wish to inform the public that KEBS will only consider and recommend to the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, a waiver of the age limit for police-auctioned vehicles that meet the requirements specified above,” the statement added.
Kenyans purchasing police-auctioned vehicles were urged to adhere to the guidelines established under the Kenya Code of Practice for Inspection of Road Vehicles to avoid legal consequences.
