Swat – A valley of Non-Custom Paid (NCP) cars
Pakistan is full of many unseen stories through those we can figure out where we stand today. Swat is a beautiful valley in Pakistan. Since it is a provincial tribal area, it is considered as a tax-free zone. In Swat, if you go and roam around, you can see many non-custom paid (NCP) cars running around the city. These NCP cars verified as real or fake. But where do these NCP cars come from in Swat? The monthly increase in the number of NCP cars in Swat poses many questions marks on local administration and government.
Actually, these NCP cars are smuggled to Pakistan all the way from Afghanistan. The smugglers usually split cars into three or four parts, and some smuggle spare parts separately. The vehicles are brought in the name of ‘spare parts needed in Pakistan’, but once they enter the country, local assemblers, with the help of unprofessional and uncertified auto mechanics, start assembling the split pieces into full cars in small-scale factories in the city, and make them ready for the purpose of selling.
These re-assembled cars in Swat and other different tribal areas are available for a substantially lower price. Despite the lower margins, the sale of NCP cars is increasing and the people associated with this black business are making nig money out of it.
Recently, police and local administration started operation against this illegal car business and and imposed a ban on assembling these vehicles due to which many factories have been sold or shut down, but will this operation help in stopping and capturing the people involved in car smuggling?
The problem will remain there until the government makes its auto policy better suited for the consumer rather than the auto makers, as with the current policy there are no options available for the consumers and they are forced to explore other viable alternatives for their vehicle needs, and with a solid demand for these vehicles, the smugglers will continue to smuggle these cars into Pakistan, depriving the government of considerable tax revenue.