Procedure

AGENCY: LIVESTOCKAND LIVESTOCK PORDUCTS BOARD OF NAMIBIA (LLPB)

3.5.1 Application for in-transit livestock permit

3.5.1.1 Any person applying for an in-transit livestock permit which falls in the domain of controlled products must:

(a) Be a registered producer, if Namibian. If non-Namibian, use a special producer number allocated for such purposes;

(b) Complete the prescribed application form and supply all required details on such form;

(c) Attach required documentation to the application form and;

(d) Pay prescribed levies as determined by applicable notice in the Government Gazette.

3.5.2 Manner of submitting an application for in-transit livestock permit

3.5.2.1 An application for an in-transit livestock permit shall be applied for at the Meat Board Head Office at the Trade and Marketing Division or at Meat Board registered agents in-good-and regular standing. An application for the in-transit of livestock permit shall be lodged as follows:

(a) Through a physical visit and due completion of the prescribed application form by the exporter or an authorised representative of the exporter;

(b) Through an acceptable and traceable electronic means of communication submitted to an authorised official of the Meat Board of Namibia including but not limited to email and fax;

(c) The application form shall stipulate the number and type of livestock required to be exported (cattle, sheep, goats, or pigs) and the purpose of such livestock (breeding, farming, etc. and other required attributes – tollie, heifer, cow, bull, etc);

(d) The application form shall stipulate the name of the country and or district of origin from where the livestock were sourced, the name of the in-transit country and the name of the country or district where the livestock are exported to. (e) The application form shall include details of the name, physical address and contact details of the exporter. (f) The application form shall specify the reasons for transit;

(g) The application form shall stipulate the names of the entering and exiting border or port;

(h) The application form shall stipulate the means of transport (road, air, rail or sea);

(i) Any electronic interface between the Meat Board and applicants shall serve as an equal platform of submission;

(j) An application shall be lodged at least 48 hours before the undertaking of exports in order to allow ample time for the consideration and approval of such permit. The burden of ensuring that an application has reached the relevant authority shall rest with the owner of the permit;

(k) The application for the in-transit of livestock permit shall be deemed complete if and once all the required documents have been attached to the prescribed application form and that application form has been effectively submitted to the Meat Board by the applicant or their authorised representative(s).

3.5.3 Assessment of permit applications

3.5.3.1 Permit applications will be approved upon the following conditions:

(a) The full completion of the application form with the signature of the owner of the consignment or their assigned person(s);

(b) The attachment of a valid livestock import permit from the importing country;

(c) An animal health certificate attached to the import permit as stipulated in (b) above, fully completed and signed by a Veterinarian from the exported country;

(d) Copy of an invoice made out in the name corresponding to that in the application form and that stipulate the value of the animals;

(e) Current exchange rate;

(f) The attachment of an effective proof of payment of all applicable Meat Board levies where the applicant does not have an account or where the applicant’s account is in good-standing. The effectiveness of the proof of payment must be confirmed with the Meat Board Finance Division;

(g) The applicant must not have been suspended or de-registered on any producer number to which they are connected;

(h) The applicant must be the holder of the producer number of the Institution/Organisation submitting the application or the authorised person by that institution/Organisation

(i) The permit shall be subjected to a validity of seven working days from the date of issue.

3.5.4 Collection of Issued Permits

3.5.4.1 It is the duty of the applicant to ensure that the Meat Board in-transit livestock permit is collected from the Meat Board by the applicant or its assigned persons before the consignment of animals enters Namibia. The collection of permits from the Meat Board shall be done in the following manner:

(a) Physical collection by the permit holder or their assigned persons at the Meat Board

(b) Sending an authorised courier service company to the Meat Board to collect the permit(s)

(c) A scanned permit shall be counted as a valid permit for the purpose of in-transit of live animals as Border Management will not necessarily require the original permit.

3.5.5 Receipting of in-transit livestock permits

3.5.5.1 The receipting of in-transit livestock permits shall be done in the following manner:

(a) Upon arrival at the point of entry (border), the driver of the vehicle conveying animals shall produce a valid Meat Board In-transit livestock permit; (b) The Meat Board official at the entry border shall verify that the permit is designated for such entry border and that the number, ear tags and type of animals loaded on the truck is appropriate;

(c) Once verified the Meat Board official will seal the truck and this information including the seal number will be communicated to the Meat Board official stationed at the designated exit border;

(d) The consignment has 48 hours to reach the exit border, falling to do so will result in investigations and appropriate actions being taken by the Meat Board Law Enforcement personnel;

(e) The Meat Board official at the exit border shall verify that the permit is designated for such exit border and that the number, ear tags and type of livestock loaded on the truck is appropriate. A permit receipt shall not be issued for any quantity of animals exceeding that which is specified on the issued permit and a substitution of the type of animals shall not be permitted;

(f) The Meat Board border official shall cause an electronic entry of the quantity and type of animals actually exported consequent from a physical count and verification of animals and issue a Permit Receipt from the Meat Board Producer System (MPS) accordingly;

(g) Where the MPS is not accessible for any reason, a hand written physical permit receipt shall be issued to the importer upon verification of the type and quantity of animals;

(h) The Border official shall also verify all other details pertaining to the consignment to ensure compliance with permit conditions and law;

(i) The Border official shall enter a manual entry on a border control sheet and file all the documents on that record for onward weekly transmission to Border Management at Head Office.

(j) The border officials shall prepare a border control sheet with all entries at the end of the month specifying the name of exporters, permit numbers, actual quantities exported, the number of animals, their loading and destination districts and locations as well as the name of the border official.

(k) Consignments in transit shall be booked out of Namibia by Border Management using appropriate standard documentation and cleared of from the MPS. The MPS shall produce a report indicating in transit clearances on a monthly basis.

3.5.6 Cancellation of In-transit Livestock Permits

3.5.6.1 An In-transit livestock export permit held by the exporter is the property of the Meat Board and shall be cancelled in the following cases:

(a) Where the exporter has changed their intention to undertake the In-transit due to any reason and notifies the Meat Board to effect cancellation;

(b) Where it comes to the attention of the Meat Board that wrong, false, inappropriate or improper information whatsoever has been the basis of the permit issuance;

(c) Where a permit has not been utilised within the validity period and the exporter has not indicated the intention to extend the validity period of the permit;

(d) Where a permit holder’s conduct violates any permit condition;

(e) Where a ban on In-transit livestock imports and exports has been imposed by the Directorate of Veterinary Services for any reason and Meat Board permits have not yet been used at the time of the ban;

3.5.7 Amendment of In-transit Livestock Permits A livestock export permit is issued based on the information available at the time of raising assessing the application.