ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce has amended the Import Policy Order 2022, imposing a ban on the import of used cars under the “personal baggage scheme.”
The federal government has introduced a series of amendments to the Import Policy Order, 2022, removing provisions related to the import of vehicles under “personal baggage” and revising the conditions for imports under gift and transfer-of-residence schemes.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce and published in the Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary), the amendments have been made through SRO 61 (I)/2026 under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950.
Under the revised policy, references to “personal baggage” have been deleted from paragraph 16 of the Import Policy Order as well as from relevant entries in Appendix-B and Appendix-E.
Personal baggage category
The changes effectively end the import of vehicles under the personal baggage category.
The notification also redefines the eligibility period for importing or gifting another car.
The term “last three years” will now mean a period of 850 days from the date on which the Goods Declaration for the previous import was filed.
Baggage-based imports
In addition, the proviso to clause 2(1) of Appendix-E has been amended to allow up to three vehicle imports under the relevant provisions, replacing the earlier limit of two.
Other amendments include extending the minimum eligibility period in certain cases from 700 to 850 days and omitting several sub-clauses linked to baggage-based imports.
Importantly, vehicles imported under the gift or transfer of residence schemes will now remain non-transferable for one year from the date of importation.
The notification further provides that, once notified by the Ministry of Industries and Production or the Engineering Development Board, minimum safety, environmental, and regulatory standards applicable to the commercial import of used vehicles shall also apply to vehicles imported under these schemes.
Another key change requires that vehicles imported under the transfer of residence scheme must originate from the same country where the overseas Pakistani resides.
