The ECC on November 22, 2012 decided to reduce the age limit of imported used cars from five to three years with effect from December 15.
“We want to take input from both car assemblers and car importers and all other concerned ministries in coming days before taking any decision on car imports,” chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Khawaja Sohail Mansoor told The Express Tribune.
The finance committee had already suggested to the government to not to issue the notification of cutting down the age limit of imported cars.
We may call a joint meeting of the Public Accounts Committee in a few days to listen to the arguments of the Federal Bureau of Revenue, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce before we do this, we do not want government to issue the notification, he added.
All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) Chairman HM Shahzad, a lobbying group of car importers in the country, said that cars were being imported, but the frequency of imports was slowing down since the ECC’s decision to disallow five-year old imports.
Government’s revenues will significantly take a beating if ECC’s decision materialises, mainly due to low collection of duties. It was able to collect Rs32 billion as import tax of 55,000 cars imported in the fiscal year 2011-12.
The decision to allow five-year old imports was taken in February 2011 to push the local automobile sector to decrease car prices by increasing competition. The decision actually spurred imports as the share of imports phenomenally increased to 55,000 units in the financial year 2011-12, up 162% from 21,000 cars a year ago.
However, during the same period, sales of locally assembled cars also surged 23% to 157,325 units compared with the preceding year’s 127,944 units.
But the new fiscal year has seen sales of local cars plunge causing serious financial problems for the top three car assemblers of the country – Atlas Honda, Indus Motor and Pak Suzuki.
Local car assemblers say that the surge in car imports is the biggest reason why their sales are depressed.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2012.
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Japanese Government assists partner franchised brand licensees of Japanese autos free exhibit space and related support at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013. Indian Automobile sector has availed that opportunity to display Indian sector strength and marketing. Despite the proposal to PAMA (Pakistan Automobile Manufacturer Association) to initiate member companies as Toyota, Suzuki, Honda, HiIno, display for export and international business development and learn How to? export, and produce quality autos. If our subsidised/protected automobile industry cannot display, participate in the international market, then they should be questioned by the CCOP, and be relieved by the WTO, ITC, Geneva.
The government plays one against the other and has been doing so for years. The beautiful part is that they have fine tuned it so well that both pockets get filled.
The quality of locally assembled vehicles is drastically going down...and simultaneously they have drastically increased the prices! So of coursesales are going to be depressed! Get a local car and you will find numerous paint defects, build quality defects etc. on a brand new car! This does not happen anywhere else in the world! Yes people have been accepting all these defects because they did not have any option.....Get a brand new locally assembled car and the body starts to rust within 2 years...
I own locally assembled cars as well as imported cars from Japan...Local cars are all catching rust while imported cars which are way older do not have a single spot of rust...
I take extreme care of my cars but even after that im unable to prevent rust...its mainly because of cheap cost saving tactics our local manufactureres are using...
If after so many years they have not been able to produce better cars then they should all just shut down and go home....but they just want to rip off the pakistani people by giving them inferiour products year after year!
The local toyota honda and suzuki dealerships also provide crappy services...the body shops also do pathetic work which again most people accept and take home because they dont have time...there is no proper inspection and no quality standards are maintained what so ever....!!!
Over 25 years and the local car industry is still considered "infant" in need of protection...imagine that. Cannot even compete with heavily used 5 year old cars. Anyways, how old/new a car is or where it was assembled doesn't really matter to the buyers...IT VALUE FOR MONEY THAT MATTERS....and this is where our local boys fail miserably
increase the rate
The local car manufacture use to assemble by importing parts from abroad and i wonder that they are producing third class vehicles with much high price tags. Why is it so? This sector is also dwell in corruption and inhibited by mafias.
The govt should made a commottee of neutral technocrates to look into the matter and save pakistani nation's hard earned money to be plunder by these lotters. They should be given a minimum syandard to follow.
The pak car manufacturer must have realized that they produce pathetic quality cars and the byer even accept the 5-10 yr old car instead of the new local manufactured vehicales. sometimes they spend the same amount even.
The local manufacturer exploited the pakistani nation for long and made mockry of it. I wish that the imported made cars should come to quench the demand of customers who want quality.
Shame on you indus motor',honda atlas and pak suzuki and other culprits. just think something else rather than conspiricies. but i doubt that you will nurture optimism as for long you kept collectind unjust money.