The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the CEOs of three major auto companies after taking notice of providing vehicles on ‘own money’ despite receiving advance money from customers. Noor Alam Khan, the chairman of PAC supervised the meeting in which he gave a brief insight on the delivery of vehicles and localization of the auto industry.
When questioned about the delayed deliveries the representatives of the Pak Suzuki Motors and Honda Atlas Cars said that the companies have about 20,000 and 12,000 bookings respectively against different variants. However, the representative of Indus Motor Company showed hesitation to give exact figures regarding their bookings.
Read more: Analyzing Pakistan’s Automobile Industry
Moreover, the committee has formed a five-member inter-ministerial board to ensure the safety standards during the supply of the vehicles. Likewise, the Auditor General of Pakistan and the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) directed the officials to provide details of taxes collected from consumers by the auto companies. The PAC has also directed the FBR to provide details about the value of the import of spare parts for vehicles.
Furthermore, the chairman PAC has engaged the Ministry of Climate Change and the Ministry Of Science and Technology to work on the implementation of Euro-5 and the safety standards. Similarly, the PAC also suggested that all vehicles without airbags, safety belts, and brakes should be returned to the companies to ensure the safety and protection of the citizens.
Additionally, the chairman of PAC also inquired about the testing system for imported vehicles in the country. Likewise, he also mentioned that no compromise will be made on the payment of taxes and safety features in the vehicles. The officials from the Ministry of Industry and Production reported that no company in Pakistan was making car engines to promote localization of the industry.
Read more: Pakistan’s auto industry faces huge challenges after SBP’s new directives
Moving on, senator Shibli Faraz expressed himself as;
“Why engines can’t be built locally here for the last 75 years”
Conclusively, the PAC has urged the automobile industry to incorporate safety technology in vehicles to ensure citizens’ safety and protection. Likewise, this initiative would also help the localization of the industry and increase the import standards of the vehicles.