Sunday, August 25, 2019

Auto dealers call for lowering tariffs to support growth

The dealers called for the lowering of the tariffs on the imports of automobiles.
The auto sales growth rate has dropped to 1.5 per cent from an average growth rate of 20 per cent to 25 per cent – from a year ago – also due to unclear and inconsistent policies, apart from high tariff on imports and government perception that automobiles are luxury goods, they said, adding that the drop in auto sales will hit the government treasury too.
“The slowdown in the growth of automobile business is not a positive sign, according to the immediate past president of Nada – the umbrella organisation of automobile dealers across the country – that is organising Nada Auto Show 2019 from the day after. The slow growth due to rising tariffs on imports of vehicles and tightening of credit flow to the auto sector has not only hit the business but also the revenue mobilisation target of the current fiscal year. The government gets nearly Rs 100 billion in revenue from the auto sector every year.
“The government has imposed a tariff of 255 per cent to 320 per cent on the import of automobiles.”
People, though can ride a car based on their capacity, the high tariff rate is curbing the rights of the people to ride a car, he added.
The failure of the government to expand the road network and build infrastructure are also some of the roadblocks for the smooth ride of the automobile business in the country. “The complaints that there are a lot of vehicles on the road which has caused traffic congestion, is just due to fewer and smaller roads in the country,” he said, adding that the successive governments have failed to spend the budget allocated for the construction of roads.
The recent government move to make permanent account number (PAN) mandatory, online-based vehicle and consignment tracking system (VCTS) and mandatory enrollment in the social security fund (SSF) scheme also made the doing business difficult in Nepal, Shrestha added.

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