No more imports of 'personal' used cars

KARACHI: Ministry of Commerce makes changes to Import Policy Order 2022, forbidding the importation of old cars through the “personal baggage” scheme.

The ministry on Wednesday issued SRO 61(I)/2006. According to the SRO, the import of the used cars can be done only under the “transfer of residence and gift schemes.”

Imported vehicles that come through gift or transfer of residence arrangements will remain non-transferable for a period of one year from the date of importation, as stated by the SRO.

The vehicles allowed under the transfer of residence arrangement will be from the same country where the overseas Pakistani lives. The timeline allowed for vehicle import under the new arrangement has been increased from the earlier allowed 700 days to a maximum of 850 days from the date of filing the Goods Declaration of the last vehicle that will be allowed for import under the said order.

The SRO further stated that in respect of the commercial importation of used importible vehicles, the minimum safety and environmental standards and regulatory measures, as applicable and so far notified by the Ministry of Industries and Production or Engineering Development Board (EDB), shall apply mutatis mutandis to the importation of the aforementioned vehicles through the gift and transfer of residence regimes.

At the start of January, the Federal Cabinet approved the decision made by the Economic Coordination Committee or ECC on December 9 in 2025 to provide overseas Pakistani citizens with the facility to import used cars up to three years old through two programs.

“The entire industry is set to be adversely impacted due to the arrival of second-hand cars,” said H.M. Shahzad, the Chairman of the All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association. “The industry has seen the arrival of 40,000 second-hand cars in FY25 and 18,000 such cars in the first six months of FY26. It is feared that the arrival of second-hand

“On Dec 9, 2025, he announced that the personal baggage scheme, widely available to foreign Pakistanis for years, had been scrapped, while even more restrictions had been imposed on the gift and transfer of residence schemes.”

All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) Chairman H.M. Shahzad painted a gloomy picture of the arrival of used cars in 2026, following an influx of 40,000 used cars in FY25 and 18,000 units in 6MFY26 (first six months of FY26).

He said on Dec 9, 2025, the personal baggage scheme, which had long facilitated overseas Pakistanis, had been abolished, while the gift and transfer of residence schemes were further tightened with additional restrictions. The decision has created anxiety among overseas Pakistanis and stakeholders in the motor import business.

The government, he said, would lose millions of dollars in duties and taxes, as the import of 40,000 vehicles had contributed $500 million to the exchequer in FY25. The commercial import of vehicles has also been subjected to highly unreasonable terms, he added.

Mr Shahzad said that out of the total imports of used cars, the share of small cars (660cc) was 90 per cent, while 99pc of small cars were finding their way into Pakistan from Japan.

He said that previously, out of the total imports of used cars, 99 per cent arrived under the “personal baggage scheme.”