Mian Shoaib, Chairman of the All Pakistan Car Dealers and Importers Association, met with Provincial Minister for Industries, Commerce, and Energy S.M. Tanvir on Thursday at the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) to discuss the challenges of the association.

Bilal Afzal, the Minister of Excise and Taxation, was also present during the meeting. Due to store closures, the visitors demanded that Punjab adopt Islamabad’s biometric scheme.

They claimed that Punjab’s current biometric system is detrimental to businesses and revenue. The group also expressed concern about the loss of the showroom trade certificate.

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Tanvir told the guests that the interim government would handle their valid concerns and provide facilities to all businessmen. He emphasised the government’s commitment to commercial and economic operations and stated that concerns concerning traders would be prioritised.

Regulatory Duty Reduction

The federal minister of commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar, issued a strong warning to auto dealers on Thursday if the prices of imported vehicles do not fall following the repeal of regulatory duty.

The minister told the media in Islamabad that the additional regulatory levy on luxury products was set to expire on March 31 and asked car dealers to reduce the pricing of imported vehicles.

Qamar noted that restrictions on the creation of letters of credit (LCs) will be eliminated following the staff-level agreement, and that with the reopening of LCs, export-oriented industries will have easy access to raw materials.