ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (APP): The Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday recommended that the government to reduce import duties on used vehicles to discourage exploitation by the 14 local car assemblers, bring prices down and offer more choices to the public.
The PAC passed the recommendation after its members observed that the local car assemblers were deliberately delaying deliveries and charging the general public extra, especially after their customers had deposited full payments.
“The fault lies with the ministries concerned for not curbing the malpractice,” PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan said. The car assemblers should be barred from demanding extra charges after their customers had deposited full amount, he added.
In order to also curtail the menace of on-money and late delivery, Noor Alam Khan also directed the Ministry of Industries and Productions to reduce the delivery period from 60 days to 30 days. He also directed Secretary Industries and Production Imdadullah Bosal that the car manufacturers should be called car assemblers. “They are importing every part and only assembling them locally,” he added.
The PAC met for briefings on delay in delivery of cars, taxes paid by the car assemblers and to inquire about the amounts deposited by the general public in accounts of booking/purchases of vehicles.
It members raised various questions regarding how much money the car assemblers earned from advance money deposited by their customers.
PML-N’s Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed observed that the car assemblers were deliberately operating at less than 50 percent capacity. “There is obviously a mafia at work. If the car assemblers do not increase production to meet demand, we will move a resolution in the National Assembly to slash import duties on small, 660 CC to 1, 300 CC cars,” he added.
The PAC was informed that the car assemblers had reimbursed Rs1.95 billion late delivery charges. While Honda Atlas had delayed the delivery of 10, 241 cars, while Hyundai Nishat Motors had 6, 724 late deliveries, Indus Motors 13, 630 late deliveries, and Lucky Motors Pakistan 3, 452 late deliveries between November 2021 and April 2022. However, Pak Suzuki Motors had made the highest number of, 33, 847 late deliveries.
The PAC took an offence to the claims by car assemblers that their delivery period ranged between two to four months.
“The car assemblers take from one year to one and a half years to deliver cars to their customers,” Noor Alam Khan said.
The PAC asked the Federal Board of Revenue, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industries to revisit the policies governing the car assemblers and to revise import duties on small cars between 660 CC and 1, 300 CC.