Cars import falls by 81pc during July – November

Cars import falls by 81pc during July – November

ISLAMABAD: The import of imported cars has sharply fell by 81 percent during July – November of 2019/2020 owing to restriction imposed by the government for customs clearance through payment in foreign exchange.

The country spent $26.1 million for import of completely built units (CBU) cars during first five months of current fiscal year as compared with $135 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on December 17, 2019.

As per law the commercial import of used or old cars is not allowed. However, in order to facilitate Pakistanis living abroad the government has allowed incentives to bring cars into Pakistan.

According to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), 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.

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.

The import of cars started declining in the last fiscal year. The import of CBU cars fell by 51.33 percent to $222 million in fiscal year 2018/2019 as compared with $456 million in the preceding fiscal year.

The overall import of CBU vehicles during first quarter of current fiscal year fell 74 percent. The import of heavy vehicles including buses and trucks has declined by 42 percent. While import of CBU motorcycles fell by 75 percent.