The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, has approved stricter regulations for vehicle imports and granted a conditional increase in profit margins for petroleum dealers.
Regarding vehicle imports, the committee restricted permissible channels to just two: the “Transfer of Residence” and “Gift” schemes. It means the personal baggage scheme has been demolished, which previously allowed imports based on a minimum 180-day stay outside Pakistan.
To better regulate the process, these personal vehicle imports must now meet the same safety and environmental standards applied to commercial imports.
Furthermore, the government has extended the mandatory waiting period for imports from 2 years to 3 years. Owners will also be prohibited from selling or transferring their imported vehicles for at least one year after arrival in Pakistan.
This development follows our October 8, 2025, report that Pakistan agreed with the IMF to end the Personal Baggage and Gift schemes during loan negotiations to curb misuse of import policies. At that time, the government did not issue a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO). The news has now resurfaced, with the Gift scheme remaining intact while the Personal Baggage scheme has been abolished.
But again, the decision to abolish the Personal Baggage scheme and extend the waiting period cannot be operational until the government issues an SRO.
The Committee also reviewed and approved an increase in the margins for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and petroleum dealers, which we will cover in our next story.
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