The three-member committee appointed to examine the recalls process for cars imported from the EU and third countries began its first public hearings on Thursday.

The first witness to testify was deputy permanent secretary of the transport ministry Constantinos Kodjabashis, who carried out the administrative investigation ordered by minister Alexis Vafeades.

The witness submitted the conclusions of the investigation in a sealed folder.

Committee chairman Michalakis Christodoulou said the witness would be called to answer questions later and requested that Kodjabashis compile a list of names of road transport department directors and transport ministry auditors since 2004 who will be called as witnesses.

The committee heard that the issue of defective airbags in Cyprus was tracked as far back as 2008.

The first two public hearings are scheduled for April 3 and 9, followed by two more on April 10 and 15. They begin at 9.30am at the Press and Information Office (PIO) in Nicosia.

Representatives of the car importers (Semio) will be testifying at the first two meetings and representatives of the union of car dealers (Pasea) at the next two.

Sotos Trikomitis, the head of Semio, testified that in his view the main problem has to do with ‘grey imports’ of motor vehicles from non-EU countries.

‘Grey import vehicles’ are new or used motor vehicles and motorcycles legally imported from another country through channels other than the maker’s official distribution system or a third-party channel officially authorised by the manufacturer.

Trikomitis said the importers of ‘grey vehicles’ fall foul of the system know as SVA – or Single Vehicle Approval. SVA is a pre-registration inspection for vehicles entering the Cypriot market that have not been type approved to national or European standards.

The committee heard also that some importers were aware of the airbags issue since 2014. But although they tried to alert customers through registered post, the customers would often not take receipt of the letters as they mistook them for taxation notices.

“The situation in Cyprus, regarding the circulation of vehicles with old and faulty airbags, is unique in Europe,” Trikomitis asserted.

Coming back to the ‘grey import vehicles’, he said that they lack eCall – a system used in vehicles across the EU which automatically makes a free 112 emergency call if a vehicle is involved in a serious road accident.

He added that importers of such vehicles do not provide after-sales support.

“Unless decisive steps are taken, the safety of Cypriots will continue to be unjustifiably put at risk,” he cautioned.

The next witness was the treasurer of the Semio association and representative of Dickran Ouzounian – importers of Toyota and Lexus.

He said the company had carried out more than 100 recalls campaigns – concerning various car parts – since 2004.

The first airbag recall on a Toyota vehicle took place in October 2015.

According to the same witness, approximately 22,000 vehicles of their company had been affected by airbag recalls; currently there remain 4,000 vehicles pending recall.

The three-member panel was appointed by attorney-general George Savvides to investigate both the import and any recalls of the cars.

The committee comprises former judge of the Supreme Court Michalakis Christodoulou as chairman; its members are Michalis Vorkas, president of the bar association, and Theodosis Hadjimichael, a senior official at the Audit Office.

Its primary objective is to investigate the distribution of EU vehicles in Cyprus, the import of vehicles from third countries, and the recalls process.

It is expected to complete its investigation and submit its findings to the attorney-general within three months.

Savvides had earlier said the committee does not have the authority to assign criminal responsibility but can highlight potential evidence that may warrant a criminal investigation.

The committee has held several meetings already.

Initially, it focused on gathering legislative and regulatory frameworks relevant to the investigation in addition to identifying potential individuals who will be called to testify, with the first subpoenas expected to be delivered soon.

The committee is also set to make a public announcement inviting anyone with relevant information to come forward.

A previous committee set up by the cabinet had been dissolved to ensure the inquiry has greater authority and independence, free from legal constraints that might limit its scope.

The issue of recalls made headlines when two people died in faulty-airbag incidents apparently caused when Takata airbags suffer a fault related to exposure to high levels of heat or humidity.