The exploitation of import policy raising used car imports yet again

[Mark-x]

According to The News, the car importers have started to import used cars using the passports of Pakistani Nationals residing in Dubai. The vehicles are imported under the gift schemes which land directly to Pakistan. It has also raised several concerns regarding the car import policy imposed by the government to curb used car imports in the country.

The government imposed a condition that all the taxes and duties for the imported cars shall be paid out of foreign exchange by either a Pakistani national or a local recipient supported by a bank encashment certificate showing the conversion of foreign remittance to local currency. It restricted the import of cars in the country to a great extent. Perhaps the car import policy is once again being misused.

In the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20, as many as 1096 used cars have been imported. Out of these, more than 550 units have been imported in only September 2019, which shows a considerable increase in car imports. A total of 467 passenger cars have so far been imported in FY 2019-20, and more than 250 of these belong to a single month of September.Similarly, 276 units of SUVs were imported in the period under review, out of which nearly 130 units were imported in the third month of the current fiscal year.

The misuse of car import policy could once again affect the import bill of the country quite badly. All the efforts made by the government to curb car imports could go in vain if this matter is not looked upon with immediate effect. The restriction on car imports was also imposed to lift the local auto sector of the country.