Competency valid until last licensed issued: does anyone have this amendment in writi

[oafpatroll]

I really hope that this lunacy is brought to an end. I handed in a S13 (handgun) renewal and handgun competency renewal. My scenario is as follows:

Did handgun cop in 2011 at time of transition from old act and renewed a S13 and two S15 licenses. Less than a year later I sold the S13 handgun and one of the S15s. Subsequently I obtained another S13 handgun against the comp. As I understand it I have a competence that is valid till 2021, i.e. in line with the period of validity of the remaining S15 license.

Today I went to the Sandton DFO with a completed license renewal and comp renewal just in case the confusion was as strong with them as it was with some of us. There were 3 officers in attendance, a captain, a WO and a plainclothes guy of unknown rank. I asked questions and got answers from the team as follows:

1. Was the comp still valid?
Yes
Yes, but only in respect of the S15
No, and I must renew the additional comps I did in 2016

2. should I renew the comp
Yes
No because it is still valid
Yes, but it will be rejected because it has already expired

3. if I did renew, what should I answer to the questions on whether it was handed in on time
Say it was handed in before expiry
Say it was handed in after expiry
Say whatever you think is best

The officers were pleasant, as they always have been to me and were really trying to assist but they just don't know what the answer is. The thing is a FUBAR and I sincerely hope that clarity is obtained on this nonsense soon.

[AshleyR]

Competency validity and renewal is a stuff up.

To my understanding, pre-Firearms Control Amendment Act (No. 28 of 2006), competency certificates were valid for 5 years, the end. Easy. But what happens when your competency certificate expires while you have firearms licensed under it? Do you have to hand in those firearms now that you have no competency for them?

So those ammendments went and removed that wording, so now no one knows exactly when a competency certificate is supposed to expire. It also introduced the linguistic backflips to try convey that an expiring competency certificate (when it does eventually expire at some undefined point) does not invalidate a license granted under that certificate, given that the license likely has an expiry date beyond the competency certificate's expiry date (which is undefined). But hey, at least that amendment stated that muzzle loader competency certificates are valid for 10 years, right?

Those amendments also introduced the magical Section 10A, so that competency certificates can now be renewed. Unfortunately, the wording effectively only allows competency certificates to be renewed when also renewing the firearm licensed under that competency certificate (Because everyone only has a single firearm per competency certificate, right?). No firearm license? Too bad, it's technically impossible to renew the competency certificate. Got a competency to trade, to manufacture, or to be a gunsmith? No firearm licenses under those competencies, so I guess you can never renew those either. Jammer.

Previous threads related to this:
http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...-SEC13-renewal
http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...ce-of-the-SAPS
http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...y-certificates
http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...etency-Renewal
http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...ificate-expire

[La Morte]

I went last week to renew a license at Copshop.
This is what the Captain said; 1 FA on 5 years to be renewed - I did that last week.
Got a 2nd FA last year on sec 15, for 10 years license, - so according to the Captain, Comp is valid for next 10 years for both.

[Williamh]

Just did a competency renewal today:
My S13 handgun license was renewed in 2015 and my S15 rifle is only up in 2020, did them both originally in 2006 but was only issued in 2010.
When asked why I'm renewing now I told then that I understand that the S13 should have been renewed in 2015 with my license and didn't because the previous DFO didn't understand how it worked, and I'm going to be adding shotgun to my handgun and rifle in the next couple of weeks.
They said that that happened a lot and it will be renewed because of my explanation.
I also still had the card and not the certificate so will be getting the new no-expiry date certificate.

But here comes the kicker - as I was leaving the DFO told me when this renewal is done my competency will then be valid until 2028!?!?!
So they still don't know how it is supposed to work.

[High Power]

JSo they still don't know how it is supposed to work.

A competency certificate (note not an item on it) is valid until your latest licence expires. That is how the law stands at present.

As for a DFO not knowing, they all make it up as they go along because there is clearly little of no job training nor competency certificate to be a DFO!.

Peter