ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has ratified the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet taken on December 9, 2025, allowing overseas Pakistanis to import used vehicles up to three years old under two schemes.
According to an official statement issued by the Finance Division following the ECC meeting, the approval was granted on a summary submitted by the Ministry of Commerce, under which amendments to the vehicle import policy were endorsed while retaining only the Transfer of Residence and Gift schemes.
Under the revised framework, commercial import safety and environmental standards will be applicable to vehicles imported under these schemes. Additionally, the permissible intervening import period has been extended from two years to three years, while imported vehicles will remain non-transferable for a period of one year.
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According to sources, following receipt of the cabinet’s decision, the Ministry of Commerce will forward the case to the Ministry of Law and Justice for vetting of the relevant Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) prior to its issuance.
“As soon as the Law Ministry vets the SRO in line with the cabinet’s decision, it will be uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Commerce,” the sources added.
Earlier, during its meeting held on October 24, 2025, the ECC had considered the same summary and directed the Ministry of Commerce to hold inter-ministerial consultations and resubmit the proposal for review and final decision.
In compliance with these directives, an inter-ministerial meeting was convened, attended by officials from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Ministry of Industries and Production/Engineering Development Board (MoIP/EDB), Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD).
The matter was discussed in detail, with deliberations primarily focusing on two key aspects: (i) the number of schemes to be retained and (ii) the conditions governing the retained schemes.
The Ministry of Commerce and the FBR supported retaining the Transfer of Residence and Gift schemes. In contrast, the MoIP/EDB proposed discontinuation of the Gift and Personal Baggage schemes, citing their extensive misuse and associated foreign exchange outflows. However, the MOPHRD advocated retention of all three schemes, emphasizing their welfare value for genuine overseas Pakistanis and the need to avoid undue hardship.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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