Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar has warned car dealers of strict action if prices of imported vehicles are not slashed following the abolition of regulatory duty, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

The minister told media men that the additional regulatory duty on luxury goods ended on March 31, urging the car dealers to reduce the prices of imported vehicles.

The minister further said that the staff-level agreement (SLA) will be finalized with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before the upcoming budget. He also highlighted that restrictions on the opening of letters of credit (LCs) will be lifted after the staff-level agreement. He said with the reopening of LCs, raw materials will be easily available for export-oriented industries.

It is pertinent to mention here that the time-bound notifications on the imposition of regulatory duties and additional customs duties (ACDs) on the import of over 600 luxury and non-essential items expired on March 31.

Reporter Ashraf Khan