Car dealers urge PM to remove one-year non-transfer restriction on vehicles imported by overseas Pakistanis

The All Pakistan Car Dealers and Importers Association has asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to scrap a rule that stops cars brought in under the Gift and Transfer of Residence Scheme from changing hands for a year, according to Profit. The provision, issued as SRO 61(I)/2026 under the Import Policy Order 2022, applies to vehicles imported under such schemes and runs for one year from the import date.

In a letter, APDA Patron-in-Chief Mian Shoaib Ahmed argued that people abroad with urgent money or family needs could be forced to sell before the year is up. He added that a car changing hands without the registry being updated would separate actual possession from legal ownership. Such gaps, he said, could hamper Safe City cameras and number plate recognition systems, slowing probes into terrorism, kidnapping or robbery by pointing investigators at a former owner.

The association also warned that the rule could push owners toward informal arrangements, leaving vehicles in use without current documents. Shoaib's position is that overseas Pakistanis should be able to lawfully sell when needed, while every vehicle on the road should be tied to an accurate, current ownership record. He asked the government to revisit the provision given national security requirements.