Used car imports thru ‘personal baggage’ abolished

• Govt says scheme was being misused for commercial purposes
• Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes retained with tighter conditions

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan on Wednesday confirmed that the government had abolished the Pers­onal Baggage Scheme for the import of used vehicles after approval by the Economic Coor­di­n­a­tion Committee and the federal cabinet, while tightening conditions under the retained Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes to curb their misuse for commercial purposes.

The minister was responding during the National Assembly’s Question Hour to queries raised by MNA Dr Shazia Sobia, who asked whether the government had decided to abolish the Personal Baggage Scheme to prevent its commercial misuse and sought details of changes introduced in the vehicle import policy.

In a written reply, the commerce ministry said the revised policy required vehicles imported under the retained Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes to meet minimum safety, environmental and regulatory standards applicable to commercial imports of used vehicles.

The interval for importing vehicles under the schemes has also been increased from two years to three years, while vehicles imported under these schemes will remain non-transferable for one year.

The minimum stay-abroad requirement has been enhanced to three years, with at least 850 cumulative days of stay, for all schemes.

The condition that a vehicle must be imported from the same country where the sender resides will now apply only to the Transfer of Residence Scheme.

The ministry said the changes had been introduced after consultations with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

It said the policy adjustments were aimed at facilitating overseas Pakistanis seeking to import vehicles for genuine personal use, while ensuring that benefits accrued only to bona fide beneficiaries and discouraging misuse of the schemes.

According to the ministry, the schemes had originally been intended to facilitate overseas Pakistanis importing vehicles for personal use, but misuse, particularly of the Personal Baggage Scheme, for commercial purposes had been identified.

The policy was subsequently amended through SRO 61(I)/2026 dated Jan 15, 2026.

The ministry said it was too early to assess the impact of the revised policy on overall vehicle imports, but imports could decline following the abolition of the Personal Baggage Scheme and tighter conditions under the remaining schemes.

Separately, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said there was no provision allowing the import of cars or other vehicles without payment of duties and taxes in any part of the country. He stated this in written response to a question by MNA Moin Aamer Pirzada, who had asked whether duty- and tax-free vehicle imports were permitted in any region of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026