Ministry intervenes on imported cars’ clearance

Requests FBR to provide details of all vehicles stuck at port.

KARACHI: In a bid to examine the case, the Ministry of Commerce has requested the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) to provide details of over 1,000 imported cars that have been held up by port authorities.

The ministry wrote a letter to the FBR after a meeting between the commerce secretary and chairman All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) with the latter requesting the release of all the vehicles after paying a surcharge of 10% on each car.

The ministry, in its letter, quoted the release of imported cars of three years and eight months in a similar case on February 25, 2013.

“Ministry of commerce and the FBR has principally agreed to take up this case and resolve the matter in a few days,” APMDA Chairman HM Shahzad said.

Most of these have not been cleared on the basis of exceeding the maximum age-limit – the imported cars are between 36 to 41 months-old against a maximum of 36 permissible under the scheme.

When asked, Shahzad said this was being done to clear all the cars that have been stuck at Karachi port for the last three months. He said the efforts of the finance minister, secretary commerce and FBR chairman will soon result in the release of these cars with the government getting Rs700-800 million in surcharge and other taxes.

The APMDA chief had requested the finance minister to resolve the issue between customs and car importers when he came to Karachi last week.

The government reduced the age-limit of used cars from five years to three on December 15, 2012 in a bid to limit the rising car imports in the country. Car imports have declined significantly in the last 12 months as a result of the decision.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2014.

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