MVIL Inspection Officer Mr. Tatoi Tau inspecting a customer's motor vehicle as part of the registration process.

In light of the confusion and disruption of motor vehicles registration in the National Capital District, the Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited (MVIL) wishes to advise as follows:

1. MVIL would like to apologize to all our valued customers for any inconvenience experienced in the month of April with motor vehicle registration. We want to assure all our customers and the general public that this is not MVIL’s doing. Unfortunately, this is attributed to the non-compliance of the process that is in place and the prescribed provisions in the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act 1974 (the MVIL Act);

2. Section 50 of the MVIL Act provides that the Superintendent (being the Superintendent of Motor Traffic appointed under the Motor Traffic Act 1950 (or the successor legislation); shall not register or re-register a motor vehicle unless Compulsory Third-Party (CTP) is paid and a CTP certificate is issued;

3. This provision is absolute and compels the Superintendent to issue registration/re-registration to vehicle owners only when CTP insurance is paid and the CTP certificate is issued by MVIL;

4. Under Section 48 of the MVIL Act, the owner of the uninsured motor vehicle assumes full liability and is required to pay the prescribed penalty fee of K200.00 if caught driving an uninsured motor vehicle;

5. In addition, when caught and prosecuted in the Court of law for driving an uninsured motor vehicle, Section 59 (1) provides the Courts the option to impose a fine of K500.00 or a default penalty of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months;

6. Motor vehicle owners therefore stand to lose significantly when the requirement of Section 50 of the MVIL Act is not complied with. Thus, MVIL encourages all motor car dealers and individual vehicle owners to comply with the requirement of Section 50 of the MVIL Act to avoid any inconvenience;

7. Motor vehicle owners that have been aided and or compelled to breach the MVIL Act are at risk of being penalized and therefore are strongly encouraged to liaise immediately with the authority that has registered their motor vehicles to find an amicable solution to ensure they firstly comply with the MVIL Act, which is a statutory requirement;

8. MVIL reserves its right not to retrospectively insure motor vehicles that have been registered prior to being insured. To do so will expose MVIL to liabilities that have occurred during the pre-insurance period. More importantly, MVIL will not be forced to breach its own Act by insuring motor vehicles that were registered prior to being insured;

9. The authority that has aided or and compelled motor vehicles owners to breach Section 50 of the MVIL Act must take full responsibility and rectify this breach as soon as practicable;

10. MVIL reserves its right to take action(s) deemed appropriate to ensure compliance to Section 50 of its Act. This includes exploring enforcement options with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Traffic Police to enforce the requirements of the MVIL Act;

11. In the interim, MVIL is committed to working closely with the management team of the relevant concerned agency to ensure that necessary steps are taken to ensure all parties comply with the enabling laws as part of our collective efforts to ensure a seamless and non-disruptive transition that addresses customer convenience as our paramount objective.