International Import compliance requirements

[RY-Journeyman]

I moved from Australia to New Zealand. Yes they are different countries.

I just got my grenadier back today but not smooth sailing, and not yet registered to be legal on public roads…

issues;

Weight over 3500kg - officially 3550kg so trending to heavy /commercial based on NZ weight specifications for each category.

But based on usage and vehicle type - classed as light passenger vehicle by NZTA in Christchurch for import compliance purposes. Successfully passed compliance certification by NZTA in Christchurch. Got Warran of fitness /roadworthy certificate. Was issued NZTA forms to get registration/plates as last step before drivability in NZ.

Went in to get plates in Dunedin and pay registration today. Hit a major stumbling block. Registration computer sees 3550kg , classes it as commercial and says needs a hub-mount odometer - like trucks have. But NZTA have already said it is light passenger category on compliance paperwork so does not need said hubometer. (This is very much airport guy in France stuck without valid passport vibes now…. )

Called the NZ importers compliance team. They suggested call NZTA helpline. Very helpful. They said inspector issuing compliance should have already flagged it as 50kg over for category but exempt from hub odometer and asked for the exemption when thy inspected th vehicle but they don’t - big fail there. Now to remedy it I was asked for photos of the wheels front and side to demonstrate that fitting a hub mounted odometer would protrude and be a hazard as it would protrude beyond vehicle body work so vehicle should be exempted. Took photos - submitted today but after 5pm Friday so now waiting to hear back if I get an exemption and can finally register the vehicle and get plates for NZ.

Lesson for this. In NZ 3500 kg is a cutoff that causes additional paperwork. If I’d know I would have removed some weight from the vehicle before shipping it (roof rack / side step etc). Or made sure the inspector called head office and requested a weight exemption based on usage category. I was only 50kg over so could have easily made arrangements otherwise had I known.

Any one else have any tips on moving vehicles between countries and issues they’re having or have had in getting them registered? Would be handy to know country specific nuances.

 

[globalgregors]

I believe the 3,550kg is the weight registered for Australian compliance purposes, not the weight of your personal vehicle.

Ineos presumably lodged that weight in order to qualify the vehicle as a light commercial/heavy 4x4 for ADR/NCAP, pushing it above the 3,500kg threshold for light passenger vehicles.

We had an equivalent issue for TIP entry to Mexico, in the end they either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

 

[Tenac]

Take rear seats out and maybe some other plastic bits, go weight it. Take that in to get the regs done.

 

[globalgregors]

Take rear seats out and maybe some other plastic bits, go weight it. Take that in to get the regs done.

The issue is that this is based on the GVM shown on the registration document and compliance plate (see drivers side door plate), it’s not referring to the actual weight of the specific vehicle.

The question the Kiwis are trying to solve here is what vehicle class to register it as.

FYI I reckon you’ll find that your US vehicle has a 3,500kg equivalent GVM so you wouldn’t have the same (potential!) issue as our Australian vehicle when entering Mexico.

 

[Tenac]

The issue is that this is based on the GVM shown on the registration document and compliance plate (see drivers side door plate), it’s not referring to the actual weight of the specific vehicle.

The question they are trying to solve is what vehicle class to register it as.

sux

 

[CRH]

The issue is that this is based on the GVM shown on the registration document and compliance plate (see drivers side door plate), it’s not referring to the actual weight of the specific vehicle.

I reckon you’ll find that your US vehicle has a 3,500kg equivalent GVM so you wouldn’t have the same (potential!) issue as our Australian vehicle when entering Mexico.

The question the Kiwis are trying to solve here is what vehicle class to register it as.

It's 3500kg over in UK too.

Can they not just look at the Grenadiers that are sold in NZ and see that it's just a country dependent category??

 

[globalgregors]

sux

Yeah, normally if one can make it through to an actual human they’ll sort it out or just overlook the exception.

 

[PalmCoveWagon]

I moved from Australia to New Zealand. Yes they are different countries.

I just got my grenadier back today but not smooth sailing, and not yet registered to be legal on public roads…

issues;

Weight over 3500kg - officially 3550kg so trending to heavy /commercial based on NZ weight specifications for each category.

But based on usage and vehicle type - classed as light passenger vehicle by NZTA in Christchurch for import compliance purposes. Successfully passed compliance certification by NZTA in Christchurch. Got Warran of fitness /roadworthy certificate. Was issued NZTA forms to get registration/plates as last step before drivability in NZ.

Went in to get plates in Dunedin and pay registration today. Hit a major stumbling block. Registration computer sees 3550kg , classes it as commercial and says needs a hub-mount odometer - like trucks have. But NZTA have already said it is light passenger category on compliance paperwork so does not need said hubometer. (This is very much airport guy in France stuck without valid passport vibes now…. )

Called the NZ importers compliance team. They suggested call NZTA helpline. Very helpful. They said inspector issuing compliance should have already flagged it as 50kg over for category but exempt from hub odometer and asked for the exemption when thy inspected th vehicle but they don’t - big fail there. Now to remedy it I was asked for photos of the wheels front and side to demonstrate that fitting a hub mounted odometer would protrude and be a hazard as it would protrude beyond vehicle body work so vehicle should be exempted. Took photos - submitted today but after 5pm Friday so now waiting to hear back if I get an exemption and can finally register the vehicle and get plates for NZ.

Lesson for this. In NZ 3500 kg is a cutoff that causes additional paperwork. If I’d know I would have removed some weight from the vehicle before shipping it (roof rack / side step etc). Or made sure the inspector called head office and requested a weight exemption based on usage category. I was only 50kg over so could have easily made arrangements otherwise had I known.

Any one else have any tips on moving vehicles between countries and issues they’re having or have had in getting them registered? Would be handy to know country specific nuances.

The lack of critical thinking in the world today drives me nuts. How do we get past “computer says no?” The real world impact of waving your globally compliant truck through as-is is zero. NZ is not special. The people doing this must be miserable knowing their work creates no value for NZ, humanity or the world.

 

[Tazzieman]

The 3550kg figure got us early adopters a luxury car tax exemption; around $10k saved. And maybe other benefits of being classifued as a light truck.
Negatives:
1. Some insurance companies have a 3500kg GVM flatbed tow limit.

2. The OPs problem.

 

[globalgregors]

The lack of critical thinking in the world today drives me nuts. How do we get past “computer says no?” The real world impact of waving your globally compliant truck through as-is is zero. NZ is not special. The people doing this must be miserable knowing their work creates no value for NZ, humanity or the world.

The odds of a person being miserable manually processing vehicle registrations all day every day must surely be pretty high.

If it’s any consolation, we must have received 30-40(?) temporary import permits by now and it’s generally pretty straightforward.

 

[NQ94]

[/QUOTE]
In Australia the 3550kg gvm let's Grenadier use the same loophole as LC70 to avoid passenger car ADRs and reclassifing it as a light commercial similar to the exemption Grenadier also has by being classified as a specialist off road vehicle to avoid having autonomous braking, lane assist etc ADRs. NZ is like Australia the registered GVM comes from the manufacturers build plates. NZ like Australia does have an approval system to have a vehicle mass derated or increased for registration purposes.
I am curious if the same Australian GVM issues would be encountered in Europe, UK etc where they have 3500kg cut off mass for licences and passenger cars. The US doesn't appear to have an issue with GVM. From an Aussie point of view a person could almost drive a road train in the US with no truck, HGV licence or CDL and no idea as long as the vehicle has "Private RV not for hire" labels on it.