ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Federal government has announced major changes to Pakistan’s used vehicle import policy, which were announced during a Senate Standing Committee on Finance meeting.
With effect from July, vehicles of up to five years of age will be allowed for import while ensuring environmental compliance. The additional regulatory duty on used vehicles will also be slashed from 40% to 30% by the government.
Commerce Secretary Javad Paul said these steps have been initiated by the government under its agreements with the IMF. He explained these steps would enhance transparency and create fair chances for foreign sellers in this regard.
On the contrary, another policy proposal was not approved by the government due to the opposition from the IMF, as told by the tax officials in the Standing Committee, who opposed the proposal to abolish the 18% sales tax on educational materials and other stationery products. Hence, pencils, sharpeners, notebooks, etc., will remain on sales tax lists.
In another related development, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb refused to provide extra tax reliefs to the beverage industry and the exporters.
He claimed that several sectors have been helped by lowering advance income tax rates.
The government will lower tariffs by next fiscal year as well and aim for an average import duty of 13.77% in contrast to 16.56% during the last fiscal year.
In another development, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance approved a few changes in customs laws that will enable the special judge to freeze the assets of persons involved in cases of money laundering and illegal transfers of money.
