The automobile industry is one of the best earning sectors in Pakistan, but the government has failed to devise a new auto policy. The auto industry is the major source of income for the government in terms of duties and taxes it gets from the manufacturers, importers, dealers and buyers. The government officers look toward third world countries to get a clue for any policy instead of looking developed and duty-free countries. A car made in Japan or Korea is available at throwaway price in Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries, but it is as expensive as a branded US or European car. Pakistanis are made to pay taxes and duties more than double or triple of the actual price of a car. This is the main hurdle in the development of the business and industry. Going through the situation, the chairman of the Privatisation Commission is right in saying that this ‘country cannot move forward.’ He said this after two-hour discussions in the office of Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif to devise a new Auto Policy for 2015-20. To play a meeting is the best source of recreation for the officers where they sit, talk and leave, without reaching a conclusion. And if they reach a conclusion, that leads to nowhere.
Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif, Muhammad Dr Mifta Ismail, Arif Azim and Tariq Chaudhary attended the meeting. Some participants reportedly blamed the ‘rigid stance’ of the FBR for not reaching a conclusion as Chairman Tariq Bajwa was also present in the meeting. According to newspaper reports, the auto committee had recommended 10 percent duty on import of auto spare parts which was to be enhanced to 35 percent after two years. The FBR disagreed on a single digit rate but the chairman called for unambiguous Auto Policy so that it should not be delayed further through the legal process.
The country can emerge as a major car spare parts exporter in the world if the cottage industry is given incentives. The whole African and South American nations are waiting for the Pakistani businessmen to explore trade and investment opportunities, but dilemma is that we are afraid of taking the first step. In this situation, the chairman of the Privatize Commission is correct in saying that we cannot move forward. If we stuck at the progressive stage, one can understand what will happen to those policies at the implementation stage. The time has come the government has to change its policy of extracting more and more money from citizen.
