Government imported expensive automobiles in November

Senior Economist Ali Khizer has revealed that the government spent millions of dollars in November bringing in high-end electric vehicles and luxury cars, despite the fact that the country is struggling to preserve its limited foreign exchange reserves and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is not issuing Letters of Credit, which is impeding the production of locally assembled vehicles.

Khizer reported on Twitter that 54 luxury cars, including 8 Lexuses and 46 Land Cruiser and Prado models, were imported in November 2022, with an estimated worth of $1.2 million (based on $22,000 each car). These pricey autos’ understated and incorrectly evaluated values deplete both foreign exchange and taxes.

Khizer noted that eight of them are brand-new Land Cruisers from the 2022 model, with pre-tax prices expected to be $60k and an average assessed value of $46k. But this is not all; in the final nine days of November, 17 high-end electric automobiles were also imported.

According to Khizer, 17 EVs were imported (custom declaration) in the final nine days of the month after the 100% regulation tariff on EVs ended on November 21. The majority of these EVs are pricey Nissan Leafs, Mercedes-Benz EQE/EQS, and BMW iX3 models. Importing on the very same day that duties are waived cannot be a coincidence; rather, Khizer suggested that it was arranged in advance.

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