Imported cars held at ports to be admitted soon

Mecanique's Fal company will inspect used cars

Minister of Finance Mohamad Safadi has assigned a company to perform mechanical inspection for imported used cars at the ports of Beirut, Tripoli, and Tyr. Along with this decision, Safadi also instructed Customs at these ports to allow the entry of used vehicles that had been held up previously.

Elie Azzi, head of the Syndicate of Used Cars Importers, said: “The Saudi company 'Fal', which already operates the ‘mecanique’ inspection centers, will be in charge of inspecting the vehicles at the ports.” Azzi said that inspections will commence within two days, in order to facilitate vehicles' entrance and reduce loss. Authorities are now setting up facilities at ports for the inspections to be carried out.

The new traffic law, issued on October 25, states that imported used cars are now required to have a certificate of origin confirming that they are safe to be operated. In light of this provision, authorities at the main ports had barred a number of car shipments from entering the country.
According to Azzi, there are around 7,000 cars currently held at the ports.