The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is planning to work with labs specialized in examining automobile spare parts to provide an independent assessment on legal disputes between consumers and car dealers.
The independent labs will submit their technical reports to the ministry’s legal panel, which is authorized to rule on cases according to the regulations.
A ministry source said that the ministry would ensure that the labs have branches across the country.
The ministry has been using the services of a spare parts testing lab in Jeddah. The lab will initially test brake pads and oil filters to see if they are in compliance with the established standards in Saudi Arabia.
The ministry circulated a memo yesterday stating that it is employing the services of specialized labs to inspect the spare parts of vehicles before they are cleared by the Customs Department.
In addition, studies conducted by the ministry indicate that a large number of accidents were caused by faulty brake pads. One such report was conducted by the Customs Department last year. The reported stated that 45 percent of vehicle spare parts are poorly manufactured or counterfeit. Car dealers also emphasized that around 60 percent of the spare parts in the Kingdom are low quality.
According to a report, the Customs Department refused to clear about 1.5 million counterfeit spare parts into the country during a nine-month period in 2012.
Commerce Ministry eyes independent labs to inspect spare parts
