Govt to make it almost impossible to buy imported cars
The Federal Minister of Finance, Miftah Ismail, announced the lifting of the import ban on luxury and non-essential items, including completely built cars (CBU).
However, the government is likely to raise regulatory duty(RD) on these products by several hundred percent. Miftah said the aim of the increase in RD is to deter the import, sale, and purchase of imported luxury cars.
He said: We will impose duties so high that these items cannot be imported [easily] or at least in their finite form. I don’t have enough dollars, so I’ll go with cotton, edible oil, and wheat. I don’t give priority to iPhones or cars.
Miftah has clarified his intentions to reduce the influx of imported cars, which creates problems for some companies.
Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC), Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC), Honda Atlas Cars Limited (HACL), Kia Lucky Motor Corporation (KLMC), and Hyundai Nishat Motors Private Limited (HNMPL) In particular, certain CBU imports in their range may see a massive increase in prices.
Morris Garages (MG), on the other hand, only sells CBU vehicles until now, which puts it at risk. Other companies like Audi, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW will also see significant price increases, which could have an impact on their demand.
The government demands the complete indigenization of cars while the industry demands a coherent policy that allows localization. In the meantime, because of the import-oriented auto industry, the economy continues to suffer.