The Pakistani economy is reeling under the pressure of the current account deficit, which, according to Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin, is due to the “frivolous imports” of Completely Built-Up (CBU) vehicles.
During a discussion with Nadeem Malik of Samaa TV, Tarin highlighted that the imports of luxury items contributed a great deal to the current account deficit of $1.6 billion per month.
He added that the CBU vehicles made up a huge chunk of this amount as the carmakers continued to import them despite having set up plants in the country. He revealed this was why the government was planning to impose a complete ban on the import of CBU vehicles soon for six to nine months.
Tarin stated the government would keep a check on the import of luxury items and vehicles to contain the monthly current account deficit.
He said that the import of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits of vehicles also amounted to $500 million, adding that the government would not impose a ban on the kits as they were still yielding some form of returns. However, he underlined that the government would impose more duties on the high-end CKD vehicles to reduce the deficit.
Tarin stated that the government was putting efforts to give relief by making cars affordable for the middle-class citizens of Pakistan.
