In the current budget the government has removed zero rated exemption on commercial vehicles (trucks, buses and CNG buses) which is detrimental to the already adversely affected commercial automobile industry.
Shahab Anwar, DGM Sales and Business Development, Hinopak Motors Limited in his statement said, automobile industry was facing lot of economic problem for almost two years, such as; the rising values of the foreign currencies, falling value of our rupee and slowing economic growth, power cuts and double digit inflation compounded by natural calamities has already badly affected the automobile industry.
In the recent budget imposition of GST on commercial vehicles will completely devastate the commercial automobile industry which is already in declining phase, and working on almost half of its capacity. The zero rating facility was extended to the commercial automobile sector in 2006 was of strategic importance as modernisation of trucking industry to cope with the transportation requirement of the country.
This policy in the past has witnessed a drastic change in the transportation trends as new and heavy prime movers are now seen on the Pakistani roads, this also helped to reduce the adverse overloading phenomenon. With this new tax measures it will directly hit the automobile industry, unemployment will rise in the principals as well as the vendors' areas.
It will also have a directly inflationary affect as high transportation cost mean high cost of any goods, so consumers will be directly affected from this new tax (GST), same time the commuters will also suffer with new high fares of buses transportation (which is already on higher side due to the diesel cost).-PR
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