Police, car dealers in big fight
There is controversy between the Vehicle and Asset Dealers Association of Ghana (VADAG) and the police over the recent exercise to impound vehicles with DV and DP trade plates belonging to members of the association.
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While VADAG has expressed reservation about the exercise and insisted that its members are genuinely and lawfully transacting business, the police, on the other hand, have their own reservations.
According to the police, the fact that the association had membership cards that were recognised by the police did not place the members above the law.
Regulation 23 (8) of LI 2180 states, among others, that “a trade licence does not authorise the motor vehicle for which the licence has been issued to be used for carrying passengers, goods for hire or reward, or passengers who are not engaged in testing the motor vehicle with the view of purchasing the motor vehicle”.
Press conference
Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, the General Secretary of the association, Nana Yaw Owusu Duodu, appealed to the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to carry out future swoops with greater circumspection.
That, he said, was to ensure that genuine VADAG members who might be lawfully using their DV and DP plates for their business transactions were not adversely affected.
He said it was surprising that although every member in good standing was certified with authorised membership which was recognised by the police, their vehicles were impounded nonetheless.
Concern
He said the association was concerned about the misapplication of the DP and DV trade plates in the country.
“These challenges notwithstanding, we have also realised that a great number of miscreants have infiltrated the car selling industry with the sole aim of duping innocent customers and perpetuation of other forms of crime,” Mr Duodu said.
The situation, he said, had made it increasingly difficult for the public to properly differentiate between genuine car dealers and fraudulent ones. He, therefore, advised members of the public who wanted to purchase or sell their vehicles to contact certified garage owners who were members of VADAG.
Association not above the law
However, the Director-General in charge of the MTTD, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr Angwubutoge Awuni, explained that he had advised car dealers to form an association and develop membership cards for their members but that did not absolve them from wrongdoing.
He told the Daily Graphic that when the vehicles were stopped, they were checked whether the trade plates had been used in accordance with the law and that any vehicle found to have flouted the law was impounded.
“Those who think they can abuse the DV or DP plates under the guise of being an association cannot have their way,” he maintained.
DVLA
The Accra Regional Manager of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, explained in an interview with the Daily Graphic that the use of the DV trade plate was for moving the vehicle from the port to the house, from the house to the DVLA office for registration or from the house to the mechanic shop for repairs and then to the DVLA for registration.
He said any other purpose other than these constituted a breach of the law.
On the argument of VADAG members using the trade plates for genuine and lawful business, he said the fact that they were selling unregistered vehicles did not mean they could drive them anywhere and anyhow.
He explained that such vehicles could only be used for test-driving in the event of someone showing interest in buying one, but thereafter it ought to be sent to the DVLA office for registration.
“You cannot use the vehicle for your everyday routine activities on the pretext that you are dealing in unregistered vehicles,” Mr Matey maintained.
What the law says about DV and DP plates
The DV stands for ‘defective vehicle’ while DP means ‘direct from port’.
Vehicles issued with the DP trade plates have up to 15 days to change to DV plates for the vehicle to be taken to the licensing office for due registration or kept in the garage until the owner is ready to register it.
The DP plate is issued when a motor vehicle has been loaded from a ship, lighter, railways or the vehicle is being driven to the dealer’s or fleet owner’s place of business.
It is also issued when the vehicle is being tested after having been received, assembled or repaired at the dealer’s or the fleet owner’s place of business.
The DV number plate is used when a motor vehicle is being tried by or on behalf of an intending purchaser. Under the law, no person can use trade licence plates outside business hours, that is, between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
