After the State Bank of Pakistan lifted the curbs previously inflicted on Completely knock-down (CKD) kits for local car makers, the incumbent government also took a positive step in this regard – reduced the customs duty on the assembly kits of small cars with 1000cc or smaller engines.
As per an amendment notification issued by the revenue division, the duty has been decreased from 30% to 15%. Moreover, the customs duty on tire tubes has also been brought down from 25% to 16%. Adding more to the relief, the government has also slashed the custom duty from 32.5% to 30% on the older model of 1000cc cars.
The notification has further informed that the recent relief of 15% comes with a validity period of 3 years and is applicable on new model cars certified by Engineering Development Board (EDB).
SBP Eased Import Curbs including CKD Kits
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has eased the import restrictions on several essential items, including Completely Knocked Down (CKD). In a circular, the SBP stated that the central bank has decided to withdraw the curbs from January 2, 2023. It will pave the way for the acceptance of requests for import transactions already submitted to the SBP.
It is pertinent to mention that under circulars issued in May and July this year, the banks were required to take permission from the SBP’s Foreign Exchange Operations Department before initiating any import transactions. And this led to different curbs, and the auto industry was one of the most affected as the SBP had refused to open Letters of Credit (LCs) for CKD kits, essential for assembling cars in the country.
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