After the brash process of dolarisation is averted and the national economy seems slightly back on track, we have semi-good news for luxury petrol heads.
Three months after the cars were prohibited to enter the national territory, the incumbent government has decided to lift the ban on imports of cars but with a condition – enough to ruin the taste.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail made an announcement that the government is lifting a ban on the import of non-essential and luxury items (including cars).
BUT…A TWIST
The finance minister said the government decided to lift the ban in the face of the international requirement, but it should be noted that three times higher regulatory duty will be imposed on non-essential imported items.
“…we will impose such heavy duties that these items cannot be imported [easily] or at least in their finished form. I don’t have enough dollars, so I will prioritize cotton, edible oil, and wheat. I do not prioritize Iphones or cars.”
Ismail said, the imposed regulatory duties would be between 400-600 percent because we didn’t have enough foreign exchange to spend on luxury car models.
“Even then, if a person wants to import a car that is originally worth Rs. 60 million [but after the regulatory duties] it will cost them Rs300-400 million, they can import it.” He added.
Heavy regulatory duty imposed on CBU units would in turn bring a new fuss in the local auto market, price of imported cars will again witness a massive hike.
It is pertinent to mention that the government is doing all this not merely to discourage the imports of luxury items but to comply with the International Monetary Funds (IMF) conditions.
What do you think about this step taken by the government? How a huge increase in regulatory duties would affect the consumers. Share your thoughts in the comments sections.
Definitely ban of 400% to 500% will be imposed on CBU more than 1000cc which will be removed by Oct to Nov But the duty should be remain same on the CBU less than or equal to 1000cc . By September to October dollar will be around 180 to 190 then they will reduce the duty probably on electric or hybrid vehicles.
Pack your bags local car manufacturers and go home. Pakistanis will shift to rickshaws/tuk tuks/sohrab.
That is a good move, in this way, only truly rich people would be buying these items and the rest are going to have to remain contented with local products. However, I believe that in cars case, used cars should also be subjected to ultra high transfer taxes, in this way their sale in that condition could be limited.