Govt abolishes used car imports through ‘personal baggage’

Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan told the National Assembly on Wednesday that the Personal Baggage Scheme for used vehicle imports has been scrapped, according to Dawn. The move was cleared by the Economic Coordination Committee and the cabinet. Officials argued the scheme had been exploited for commercial trade instead of personal use.

Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes will continue, but under stricter rules. Imported vehicles must now meet the safety, environmental and regulatory benchmarks applied to commercial used-car shipments. The waiting period between imports under these schemes has risen from two years to three, and vehicles stay non-transferable for one year. Overseas Pakistanis must now spend at least three years abroad, with 850 cumulative days, under every scheme, and the same-country condition now applies only to the Transfer of Residence Scheme.

Officials have not yet gauged how the revised rules will affect total vehicle imports, though they acknowledged that volumes could fall. Separately, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated in a written reply that no provision allows cars or other vehicles to be brought in without duties and taxes anywhere in the country. He was answering a question from MNA Moin Aamer Pirzada on whether such imports were allowed in any region.