LAHORE – Car dealers have vehemently criticised the government decision of reversing its position on the import of five years old vehicles and said at least Rs 10 billion have been stuck up due to the sudden decision.
They indicated that the Ministry of Commerce issued notice on December 8, 2010 allowing the extension of the age of imported vehicles to five years. Previously, only three year-old used cars could be imported. The car importers quickly placed orders in Japan, London and Thailand and vehicles worth at least Rs 10 billion were booked.
However, the government withdrew the decision on December 28, 2010 leaving importers stranded, said Jail Road Traders Association General Secretary Zafar Iqbal while speaking to Pakistan Today. He said local car dealers and importers booked around 8,000 vehicles in different countries but the government without considering the problems of these importers imposed the ban on import again.
“The government would have collected more than Rs 3.0-4.0 billion in duties and taxes through the import of these vehicles,” he claimed. He opined that powerful interest groups in local manufacturers misled the government by claiming they will decrease prices and managed to cancel the notification of importing vehicles. He said a local manufacturer Suzuki in the previous three years has increased prices 18 times while Toyota and Honda increased price 16 times.
He was adamant that the promises of local manufacturers were empty; pointing out that nothing in this direction has been done so far. “Only Toyota has decreased the prices around Rs 15,000-20,000 and that is a joke with consumers,” Zafar Iqbal noted. He asserted that local manufacturers have increased prices of vehicles from Rs 200,000 to Rs 400,000 and reiterated they would be unwilling to lower prices. He said the buyers are reluctant to buy vehicles due to high decrease prices and business of vehicles has been ruined.
Another car dealer Rizwan Goraya lamented that importers booked used vehicles in Japan, where prices also increased due to the relaxation of import. He said more vehicles of 660cc engine capacity were chosen than other vehicles, as they are more in demand in local market.
He demanded the government compel local manufacturers to lower prices by at least Rs 50,000 to 150,000 so that people stand a realistic chance of buying a vehicle. He said local manufacturers enjoyed a massive profit margin on each car but in return provided low-quality vehicles to users.
“This is the reason people are more interested in buying imported cars and prefer them over locally manufactured vehicles,” he concluded.
