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  1. #11
    User Nicyale's Avatar
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    Kreefstert, thanks for giving me the best laugh I've had all day. If only it were as simple as that. You're right about masses of paperwork. It must be one of the most highly regulated industries in the world. I'd say importing from the US generates the most paperwork. This is how it works with a fictitious company called Swat & Wriggle.

    The order is placed for a year's worth of guns, as each US export license costs $250 and is valid for as long as our ITAC permit, which is only valid for one year. A separate ITAC permit is required for rifles, shotguns, semi-auto rifle, handguns and parts. Recently SA Customs has decided they require a separate ITAC permit for each type of part!

    Then Swat sends an Order Acknowledgement and the importer has to complete the paperwork for Swat's export license application. The quantities, models and values on the application form have to exactly match the importer's original order and Swat's OA.

    To the cent. I wonder and curse about this part of the process. Then the originals are couriered to Swat, the State Dept rejects the application as the descriptions on the form don't exactly match the descriptions on the order, or the items are not listed in the same order, or whatever.

    Redo and send by courier again until the license is approved. This part of the process can take months.

    License is approved but Swat has no stock available to send. Eventually, when the US license is a few months away from expiry Swat says they have some stock and they ask for payment before providing serial numbers.

    During all this local (SA) customers ask for models that aren't on the original order, with engraving, or some obscure part, and the paperwork, including Swat's order acknowledgment, must be amended. It takes another couple of weeks for someone at Swat to find a price for the part so that it can be included correctly.

    If importer asks for a deposit for the fancy model customer asks for a refund 4 months later as it is taking too long ... or, if deposit is not paid their wife needs an operation when the gun arrives.

    Then the fun starts here with applying for an import permit from CFR. Permit application plus motivation letter (believe it or not - for each permit!) plus payment submitted to local DFO. After about a week collect paperwork from DFO and check for mistakes (incorrect serial numbers, etc), send back to be corrected, collect paperwork again a week later (?!) and courier or deliver to CFR Pretoria.

    Two to three weeks later Pretoria sends permit electronically to local DFO. DFO's printer doesn't work and/or the only person who can sign the permit is in a 3 day long meeting or off sick.
    Recently and suddenly CFR decides they must have a copy of exporter's license in order to process the import permit.

    Another delay waiting for this.

    With Italian suppliers this grinds to a halt as Italian authorities only issue export permits after they receive importer's import permit. Nobody knows how to proceed ...

    Several weeks after paying supplier, importer gets permit and exporter might need to apply for an in-transit permit if guns are not flying direct. Guns eventually arrive in SA and are grabbed by Guardforce after Customs clearance. There they get stuck as they cannot be released until SAPS has inspected the shipment. Try find a SAPS member to go and inspect. Meanwhile Guardforce charges about R2k per day for storage. When guns finally reach importer's strong room they must all be listed in the register and in SAPS 350 forms, which are sent to CFR for processing so that licenses can be applied for.

    Months later irate customers say they can't apply for their licenses as there is only one person at CFR who processes all the 350s and import permits and that person is snowed under and hasn't gotten around to doing it.

    Importing ammo is much the same except that shipping lines have a basement full of trolls somewhere who keep busy figuring out new ways to make it more difficult to transport ammo. Part of this is involves charging a $5,000 hazardous surcharge per shipment.

    That's the short version and might explain why guns and ammo that sell for, say, $50 in the US cost more than R500 here.
    Last edited by camouflage762; 20-05-2013 at 10:46. Reason: formatt

  2. #12
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    And after that explanation I will never bitch about the price FAs or ammo again!

  3. #13
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    ...and then people wonder why prices in SA aren't just a straight conversion from US$ to Rand...

    ...or why Nicholas Yale decided to close down their retail side...

    Thanks for the explanation Nadine, it is a wonder that you can still be so friendly!
    [b]Be ready for anything, and if his head is not at least two meters away from the body, do not 'assume' he is dead and out of the fight.[/b] [I]- Ikor[/I]

  4. #14
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    Damn... I agree with longshot

  5. #15
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    this also staves every ones upsets with pmp ammunition pricing.

  6. #16
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    Wow,thanks forthat explanation.

  7. #17
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    Thank you. Fascinating read.

  8. #18
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    Glad you had a laugh Nicyale/Nadine. Thank you for taking the time to explain the process to us. That is enough to drive any normal person to tears. If it was me I would probably end up cursing some US State Dept employee in Afrikaans!

    One last question, I assume the actual delivery to the importers warehouse/office isn't done by 2 okes called Wingnut and Spike in a 1400 Datsun bakkie? A large shipment of guns would be prime targets for the Dept of Redistribution. It would need a serious armed escort?

  9. #19
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    Default Re: Importing guns wholesale. How it works?

    Well done Nicyale.

    My reply would have been short and bitter (there is no place for "sweet" here): tenacity, frustration, paperwork, e-mails, phone calls and the utmost of self control not to crack up or fly off the handle several times during the process of importing one shipment.

    Your review is much better and much more entertaining It even makes me relax a bit about my frustration with my current import from Germany which has just completed week 9 of waiting for the export permit which has not yet been approved by the way.

  10. #20
    User Nicyale's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kreefstert View Post
    Glad you had a laugh Nicyale/Nadine. Thank you for taking the time to explain the process to us. That is enough to drive any normal person to tears. If it was me I would probably end up cursing some US State Dept employee in Afrikaans!

    One last question, I assume the actual delivery to the importers warehouse/office isn't done by 2 okes called Wingnut and Spike in a 1400 Datsun bakkie? A large shipment of guns would be prime targets for the Dept of Redistribution. It would need a serious armed escort?
    Anhhh ... That part's a secret ;-)

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