During an inspection of vehicles imported into Israel as collectible vehicles it was revealed that, contrary to the importers' affidavits, various modifications had been made to the vehicles, including a conversion from a right-hand drive vehicle to a left-hand drive vehicle, in contradiction to the declaration they submitted for the purpose of obtaining the import license. Thus, the importation license was revoked.
The Court rejected the petition due to a mismatch between the original and current vehicle structure and the lack of feasibility for repair. A collectible vehicle will be imported to Israel in its original configuration provided that unlike a vehicle with a right-hand drive, it is not prohibited from import. Altering the structure of a vehicle requires a written permit from the Licensing Authority, and such a permit is conditional on receiving the manufacturer's confirmation that the original vehicle’s structure is consistent with the current. The authorized authority has the right to cancel an import license if it was issued on the basis of false or misleading information. Here, as the importers’ declarations that the vehicles had not undergone structural changes turned out to be false, the authority has the right to revoke the import license. Moreover, as the authority's approval for structural changes is contingent on receiving the manufacturer's approval, and as the vehicles were manufactured with right-hand drive, returning them to their original configuration in order to obtain the manufacturer's approval will disqualify them for import into Israel - hence they cannot be imported into Israel.