KARACHI: The import of used and old cars witnessed sharp decline of 61 percent during first eleven months (July-May) of current fiscal year due to condition of payment of duty and taxes through foreign exchange imposed by the government.
The import of used and old cars in Completely Built Unit (CBU) condition fell by 61 percent to $84.2 million during July –May 2019/2020 as compared with $216.5 million in the corresponding period of the last year, according data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The commercial import of used or old cars is not allowed under prevailing laws of the country. However, in order to facilitate expatriate Pakistanis the government allows incentives to bring cars into the country.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has allowed Pakistani nationals residing abroad including dual nationals can import old and used vehicles into Pakistan under these schemes: Personal Baggage; Gift Scheme; and Transfer of Residence.
The cars not older than three years and other vehicles not older than five years can be imported under these schemes, the FBR said.
In the past these schemes were grossly misused and bulk of imported cars brought into the country.
However, the ministry of commerce in February 2019 amended Import Policy Order, 2016 and made it mandatory for clearance of cars through foreign exchange, which should be certified by banks.
Since then the clearance of the cars has come to a standstill. Customs authorities said that a large number of imported cars were at the port but importer had failed to make payment as per procedure prescribed by the ministry of commerce.
However, later in a meeting of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) decided to allow payment for duty and taxes for customs clearance of imported cars through local resources with condition that if foreign exchange becomes short due to currency fluctuations or change in duty and tax rates.
