‘New restrictions will hurt car sales’

Excise office not allowing car registration to non-Lahore residents.

LAHORE:

Car dealers have objected to the Excise Department’s decision to allow the issuance of registration certificates for vehicles to the original owner or transferee only, saying it will hurt sales.

On October 19, the Excise and Taxation Department issued a notification barring excise officials from delivering or issuing registration certificates, number plates and original files for cars to agents. The notification said the original files would be handed over or sent to the ID card addresses of the owners only.

“Our concern is that excise officials will use the restrictions to pester people. They even refuse to entertain registration applications from people who don’t have Lahore in the home address on their ID cards,” said Zafar Iqbal Goraya, the secretary of the Jail Road Traders Association.

The Excise Department issued a similar notification in 2008, but withdrew it a few weeks later because of certain complications.

“Citizens should be able to get their vehicles registered wherever they want,” said Goraya. “The decision will affect car dealers in Lahore as people will not want to buy cars here if they don’t have a Lahore address, as they won’t be able to get their cars registered.”

Under the old system, he said, vehicle owners did not need to be physically present when seeking to register a new car or transfer ownership.

This was usually done on their behalf by ‘agents’, who could be hired for a small fee at the registration office.

Figures from the excise office on Faridkot Road already show a decline in the number of applications for registration or transfer. On October 26, the registration branch received 193 applications for cars and 1,377 for motorbikes.

On October 27, it received applications for 213 cars and 1,110 motorbikes. On November 1, it received 90 applications for cars and 431 for motorbikes.

Excise Department officials refused to comment. But sources in the department said that the purpose of the notification was to eliminate the involvement of agents in the business.

They said the reason non-Lahore address holders were being turned away was logistical: the department has a contract with a courier company for delivery within Lahore, but not outside. They said the department was trying to reach an agreement with the post office for delivery of papers and registration plates to addresses outside the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2011.