Pakistan abolishes used car imports through 'Personal Baggage Scheme'

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan has confirmed that the government has abolished the Personal Baggage Scheme (PBS) for the import of used vehicles.

The federal cabinet and Economic Coordination Committee have given approval to the abolition, tightening conditions under the retained Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes to curb their misuse for commercial purposes.

The minister was responding during the Question Hour of the National Assembly to queries raised by Dr Shazia Sobia, who asked whether the government had decided to abolish the PBS to prevent its commercial misuse and sought details of changes introduced in the vehicle import policy.

In a written reply, the commerce ministry said the revised policy required vehicles imported under the retained Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes to meet minimum safety, environmental and regulatory standards applicable to commercial imports of used vehicles.

The interval for importing vehicles under the schemes has also been increased from two years to three years, while vehicles imported under these schemes will remain non-transferable for one year.

The minimum stay-abroad requirement has been enhanced to three years, with at least 850 cumulative days of stay, for all schemes.

The condition that a vehicle must be imported from the same country where the sender resides will now apply only to the Transfer of Residence Scheme.

The ministry said the changes had been introduced after consultations with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

It said the policy adjustments were aimed at facilitating overseas Pakistanis seeking to import vehicles for genuine personal use, while ensuring that benefits accrued only to bona fide beneficiaries and discouraging misuse of the schemes.

According to the ministry, the schemes had originally been intended to facilitate overseas Pakistanis importing vehicles for personal use, but misuse, particularly of the PBS, for commercial purposes had been identified.

The ministry said it was too early to assess the impact of the revised policy on overall vehicle imports, but imports could decline following the abolition of the Personal Baggage Scheme and tighter conditions under the remaining schemes.