| (1) | The Registrar may, apart from any other relevant aspect, consider the existence of any of the following circumstances, when applicable to an applicant that applies for a competency certificate, as key indicators in order to launch an investigation or enquiry contemplated in section 124(3) of the Act to determine whether the applicant for the competency certificate is a fit and proper person as contemplated in section 9(2)(c) of the Act, of a stable mental condition and is not inclined to violence as contemplated in section 9(2)(d) of the Act, and is not dependent on any substance which has an intoxicating or narcotic effect as contemplated in section 9(2)(e) of the Act, as the case may be— |
| (a) | whether in the past five years the applicant has been served with a protection order in terms of the Domestic Violence Act, 1998 (Act No. 116 of 1998), or visited by a police official concerning allegations of violence in the applicant’s home; |
| (b) | whether in the past five years the applicant has been denied a licence, permit or authorisation regarding a firearm and the reason for such denial; |
| (c) | whether in the past five years the applicant has threatened or attempted suicide, suffered from major depression or emotional problems, or engaged in intoxicating or narcotic substance abuse; |
| (d) | whether in the past five years the applicant has been diagnosed or treated by a medical practitioner for depression, drug, intoxicating or narcotic substance abuse, behavioural problems or emotional problems; |
| (e) | whether in the past five years the applicant has been reported to the police or social services for alleged threatened or attempted violence or other conflict in the applicant’s home or elsewhere; |
| (f) | whether in the past two years the applicant has experienced a divorce or separation from an intimate partner with whom the applicant resided where there were written allegations of violence; or |
| (g) | whether in the past two years the applicant has experienced a forced job loss. |
| (2) | In order to determine whether an applicant is a fit and proper person as contemplated in section 9(2)(c) of the Act to be issued with a competency certificate— |
| (a) | to carry on business as a gunsmith, the Registrar may take into account whether the applicant has successfully passed an applicable acknowledged national or international trade test that substantially complies with the requirements of the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998); and |
| (b) | in the case of the manufacturing of ammunition consisting of the loading of ammunition other than contemplated in section 93(1) of the Act, whether the applicant can provide proof of sufficient applicable previous experience or a qualification approved by the Registrar in the field of ammunition loading together with a detailed evaluation report from The Head of the Ballistic Unit of the South African Police Service’s Forensic Science Laboratory regarding the applicable experience and knowledge of the applicant. |
| (3) | When the Registrar performs a function as contemplated in section 124(3) of the Act in order to make a determination as contemplated in subregulation (1), the Registrar may require from a person applying for a competency certificate, to provide— |
| (a) | a certificate issued by a medical doctor regarding the applicant’s dependence on any substance which has an intoxicating or narcotic effect; |
| (b) | a report compiled by a psychologist or psychiatrist, or both, regarding the stable mental condition and inclination to violence of the applicant; or |
| (c) | both such certificate and report. |
| (a) | The Registrar must, after having determined that a person is a fit and proper person as contemplated in section 9(2)(c) of the Act who qualifies in terms of the Act to be issued with a competency certificate to possess a firearm as a private collector, specify in that competency certificate the category in which the accredited collectors association has duly classified a member as a private collector. |
| (b) | On proof to the satisfaction of the Registrar that the private collector concerned has subsequently been declared to be in a higher category by the collectors association of which the private collector is a member the Registrar must alter the competency certificate accordingly. |
[Regulation 14(4)(b) substituted by section 9 of the Firearms Control Regulations, 2012, dated 1 March 2012]
| (c) | The Registrar may only licence a firearm to a private collector in accordance with the category reflected on the competency certificate issued in accordance with this regulation. |
| (5) | The Registrar may, by means of a written notice served on the holder of a competency certificate contemplated in subregulation (4), and after a procedure similar to that referred to in section 28(2) and (3) of the Act was followed, withdraw a competency certificate if the person, and in the case of a juristic person, any person who is in control thereof or is responsible for the management thereof— |
| (a) | is no longer domiciled or ordinarily resident in the Republic of South Africa; or |
| (b) | has been sentenced in or outside the Republic of South Africa for any offence to a period of imprisonment without the option of a fine. |
| (6) | The test on knowledge of the Act as contemplated in section 9(2)(q), must comply with the requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995) read with the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998). |
| (7) | The training and practical tests regarding the safe and efficient handling of a firearm as contemplated in section 9(2)(r) of the Act, must comply with the requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995) read with the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998). |
| (8) | The training and practical test for dealers, manufacturers, gunsmiths, security officers or other persons who use firearms in the course of their business as contemplated in section 9(2)(s) of the Act, must comply with the requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995) read with the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998). |
| (9) | A person who has previously obtained a competency certificate and who applies for a further competency certificate may in addition to the requirements of regulation 14 submit proof of the previously successful completion of the applicable prescribed training and practical test in which event the applicant need not complete further training or a practical test. |
