By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, May 12: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) on Friday indicated that duties and taxes on import of cars might be increased slightly in the next budget.
CBR official spokesman Hafeez Mughal said here that as a result of rationalisation of duty structure, which was currently under consideration, the tariff structure on import of cars might be revised upward.
He categorically stated that no proposal to reduce the duties and taxes on the import of cars was under consideration of the government.
He, however, did not mention that whether the duty would be revised up on import of new cars or duty structure on import of used cars would be changed.
When contacted Engineering Development Board (EDB) chief executive Imtiaz Rastgar said that the board had not proposed any increase in duties on import of new cars.
He said that the introduction of Tariff Based System (TBS) from next fiscal had nothing to do with the increase in duties and taxes on import of the new cars.
Mr Rastgar said that in the final meeting of the board on the Tariff Based System it was agreed in consultation with all stakeholders that those parts and accessories, which were manufactured locally, would be subject to 50 per cent import duty. While those, which were not manufactured locally, would attract 35 per cent duty in the initial year of the scheme, he added.
Secretary Commerce Syed Asif Shah when contacted told Dawn that he had no knowledge about any CBR proposal for increasing the duties and taxes on import of new cars.
He said that a meeting of CBR was scheduled with commerce ministry on May 18 in which all such kinds of proposals would be discussed for consideration in the budget.
Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association chairman Kunwar Idris told Dawn from Karachi that the auto manufacturers had not proposed for any increase in duty structure on import of new cars.
“We are comfortable with the current slabs on import of new cars. Even if there is a minor reduction in duty that would also not affect the local manufacturers,” he added.
He said that the association proposed that the duty on CKD imports should be reduced from the current 35 per cent to 32.5 per cent in the first year of the TBS system.
He said that the real threat for the local assemblers was the liberal import of second-hand vehicles under various schemes announced last year.
He said the manufacturers had proposed to the government to revise downward the depreciation in duty and taxes on import of used cars to maximum of 25 per cent instead of the current 50 per cent.
The association also proposed to restrict the schemes only for genuine overseas Pakistanis and its commercial use should be banned from next fiscal.
He said in India the import of new cars attracts less duty as compared to the old vehicles.
http://www.dawn.com/2006/05/13/ebr2.htm