Namibian business people intending to expand to southern Angola have until 9 May 2003 to register at the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry head office in Windhoek. The NCCI is organizing a trade fair in Lubango from 9 to 14 June 2003. It is a solo exhibition of Namibian goods and manufactured articles. Since peace returned to Angola last year, the Namibian government and the NCCI encourage Namibian companies to exploit business opportunities in Angola. The initial optimism was dampened to some extend a few weeks ago with tough import regulations coming into force at the Angolan immigration posts last month. The government in Luanda outsourced customs and excise duties to the Bureau Veritas Consultancy. Angolan importers of foreign goods like from Oshikango, Katwitwi and Rundu in Namibia must first get an import certificate from Veritas. Before goods cross the border, the tax invoice must be sent to the importer, who must forward it to Veritas who determine the value and import tariff. The current delays at the border are caused because the documents are then send to the Veritas office in Johannesburg for verification. That office instructs their inspectors to check the consignments and containers and if they are on par with the new standards set up by the Angolan government. Only if the inspector is satisfied and attaches a Veritas seal on the goods, they may cross the border. This lengthy process has frustrated hundreds of business people in both Namibia and Angola because their trucks with goods are stranded for days at the border posts to Angola. Since the beginning of this year, an average of 100 trucks used to cross the border into Angola.