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Customs clear 80 containers of used autoparts

LAHORE: The Collectorate of Customs, Lahore, after levy of 125 percent fine and 60 percent duties, has cleared 80 out of a total of 90 containers of used autoparts, and collected a revenue of over Rs 96 million.

Customs Collector Aftab Anwar Baloch told APP here on Friday that nearly 250 containers were stuck up in the province as a banned item. He said the present government had, on repeated requests by the Punjab Used Autoparts Association, accorded permission for the release of these containers.

He said as per directions of the Central Board of Revenue, 125 percent fine, 35 percent Customs duty, 15 percent sales tax and five percent income tax is being levied on these containers.

NLC Air Freight Unit Deputy Collector Customs Thokar Niaz Baig, Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah said that the containers were being cleared in accordance with the laid down policy and after thorough examination and inspection.

He said the collector was personally monitoring the performance of all officials and paying surprise visits at different units to check the levy of Customs and other duties on the imported consignments.

Justifying the import of used autoparts, Mohammad Sardar, patron, Used Autoparts Association, said even rich countries imported used autoparts to ensure savings and the continued plying of functional automobiles on the roads, while a poor developing country like Pakistan could hardly afford the luxury of discarding old vehicles, he added.

Commenting on the possibility of local production of old vehicles' autoparts, he said it was obviously untenable. Currently, genuine autoparts of seven to 10 years' old vehicles were not available in the market while imported used autoparts were easily available at comparatively cheaper rates.

He said this import caters to the needs of 1.5 million old vehicles across the country, which would otherwise be grounded and off the roads due to non-availability of parts. He said Pakistani dealers had been importing used autoparts from countries like Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and England since the last 15 years, and used to pay 100 percent fine besides the duty at the time of import.

Haji Mohammad Yasin, general secretary of the association categorically ruled out the possibility of the import hitting the local autopart industry, as not even a single factory in Pakistan was engaged in manufacturing of parts of old model vehicles.

He further claimed that the import of used autoparts would help check the smuggling of those components into the country, otherwise the government would have to spend up to Rs 20 billion to meet the demand for the used components, and also lose out on huge foreign exchange earnings through duties. APP