Using J-Spec now saves you $400 with new aircon laws

January 16, 2013

Save $400 importing a car with J-Spec using our multi use Pre-Charged Equipment aircon gas license, as opposed to importing yourself or using a competitor who does not offer this service.

J-Spec has a license which allows customers to forego having to remove the aircon gas from their cars upon import, or pay $400 for a one off license. Use of our license is free for J-Spec customers. Additionally, as well as the cost of the the multi use PCE license which J-Spec holds (which costs several thousand dollars) we also pay on your behalf the Equivalent Carbon Price of around $30 / kg for the R134a hydroflourocarbon present in each car imported, again at no extra cost to you. J-Spec also handles all reporting and other regulatory requirements, much like a lot of our service when importing a car, we take care of everything behind the scenes for you.

In greater detail:

As of January 1st 2012 new laws came into effect relating to the importation of devices which contain refrigerant, or in terms relevant to us: cars with air conditioners. Under these new laws cars which enter Australia require any of the following:

• You as a one off importer of a car pay for a temporary refrigerant license at a cost of $400, and you can only import one vehicle per 2 years
• You pay for the refrigerant to be removed in the country of origin by an accredited professional. Including both the degassing and then regassing with new refrigerant in Australia this typically costs around $350 per vehicle all up, plus additional paperwork.
• J-Spec Imports brings the car in under our multi use refrigerant license.

We have decided that the final option mentioned there is best for our customers, and so J-Spec has spent several thousand dollars to procure a multi-use PCE license for use with cars we import. This means that you will save $400 by avoiding an individual license if you import through J-Spec versus importing yourself or using an import consultant who does not have a multi use license, and many do not.

Note that for cars built before 1994 which may contain R12 gas (which is a "banned substance", as opposed to newer vehicles which have R134a, a "controlled substance") these cars will still need degassing and regassing as R12 importation is illegal, even with a PCE license.