ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to impose restrictions on the import of three-year-old used vehicles by overseas Pakistanis. The move is said to be aimed at preventing misuse of this facility and controlling illegal transactions of hundi and hawala.
According to a report, this decision was taken during an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan. According to the report, the meeting decided to restrict the existing ‘personal belongings’, ‘transfer of residence’, and ‘gift scheme’ only to those Pakistanis who are actually residing abroad. However, the imported vehicle must be registered in the name of the concerned overseas Pakistani at least six months before his departure from his country of residence.
The report revealed that some elements buy passports of overseas Pakistanis for about Rs 200,000 and use their identity to pay for vehicles through hawala. Later, these vehicles are sold to people whose wealth is not disclosed and who cannot openly buy locally manufactured vehicles.
The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan, representatives of the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association, and the Pakistan Association of Auto Parts and Accessories Manufacturers.
Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, had considered the summary of amendments to the Import Policy Order 2022 by the Ministry of Commerce. The committee had directed the Ministry of Commerce to resubmit new proposals after further consultation with all stakeholders.
The auto industry representative body expressed concern over the import of used vehicles, saying that this trend directly reduces the demand for local auto parts. They requested the Commerce Minister to take steps to discourage the import of used vehicles.
According to the report, after finalizing the recommendations, the revised summary will be submitted to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for approval.
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