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Kharal, Shahid

not beneficiaries

of yellow cab

disposal scheme

ISLAMABAD: A spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce has contradicted a news item appearing in a section of the press regarding allocation of vehicles out of defunct yellow cab scheme to Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Khalid Ahmad Khan Kharal and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shahid Ahmad Khan, and termed it totally baseless and incorrect.

The spokesman said that under the government decision vehicles imported under the scheme were to be allocated to the federal government servants only. Therefore, the question of allocating of vehicles to the federal minister for information and broadcasting and special assistant to the prime minister does not arise as they are holding political assignments and are not covered under the scheme.

The spokesman further said that the government servants who were the beneficiaries of scheme were not getting the vehicles at subsidized prices; rather they were required to pay the actual C&F price of the cars and custom duties, Iqra surcharge, import licence fee, flood relief fund, octroi, miscellaneous import expenses, warehousing charges etc. On the other hand, the genuine booking holders were getting those cars at zero rate of duty.

The government took the decision to dispose of these vehicles when it transpired that certain bookings had been made under fictitious names. This decision has, therefore, earned revenue for the exchequer and also helped in salvaging the huge amount invested by the importers and the loans advanced by the banks.

The government has made these vehicle non-transferable for a period of one year and, therefore, any allottee trying to dispose of the allocation letter will be doing it at his/her own risk and cost, the spokesman concluded.-APP