LAHORE
The automobile spare parts industry is suffering an annual loss of at least Rs 3.5 billion due to smuggling, hand baggage, as well as false declarations and invoicing during legal imports at sea and dry ports, representatives of the industry told Pakistan Today on Tuesday.
The automobile industry has displayed marvellous progress in the last ten years but the auto parts industry is facing huge and mounting losses in the face of the aforementioned problems. They have demanded action on the part of the government to implement customs law and save the industry from the smugglers.
According to Pakistan Auto Mobile Association (PAMA), there are around 1.4 million cars; 0.6 million tractors; 5 million motorcycles; 0.2 million pick-ups and light commercial vehicles; 40,000 trucks and 16,000 buses have been manufactured by the industry in the last 16 years.
An industrialist involved in the sector, claimed that smuggling and illicit import of automobile parts are causing massive losses annually to the nation in terms of lost revenue and the damage sustained by the domestic industry.
“The customs authorities do not pursue their duty with due diligence and indirectly give succor to the smugglers,” he said adding that imports were processed without proper inspection and evaluation.
Regarding abuses conducted by single individuals, this smuggling is done via hand; normally checking is not done properly at the airports. This negligence is causing huge financial losses to the government, said an official of an automobile industry while seeking anonymity.
“Another major channel of smuggling is conducted through national borders, this practice is very prevalent along the Afghan border, once goods enter the border region, they are shifted via less prominent modes like taxis, donkeys or camel caravans,” he said adding that custom authorities and border security forces are not properly examining goods at border crossings.
Indus Motor Company (IMC) Head of Parts Department Tariq Cheema said, despite huge growth in automobile market, the spare parts industry faces major hurdle. Cheema told Pakistan Today that IMC is facing business losses of 50 percent. “Other automobile companies are very much worried about these issues,” he said, adding IMC itself is facing at least Rs two billion loss annually due to smuggling.
He expressed his firm belief that Pakistan could earn billions of rupees, despite the dire situation prevailing in the country. By eliminating these threats to national industry, Pakistan could stand up on its own feet, he added.
Cheema was of the view that proper checking and evaluation at airport, seaports, dry ports and border areas, implementation of patent laws and an awareness campaign in the media to encourage customers to eliminate counterfeit parts which can sometimes endanger the lives of innocent users.
