ISLAMABAD, July 18: The government on Friday allowed import of used vehicles of different brands for industries, public delivery services organisations and used machinery to reduce the cost of doing business.

Through the trade policy 2008-09, it has been decided to allow import of used cryogenic containers/cylinders by industrial consumers provided the Department of Explosives gives a prior NOC and the containers/cylinders are refurbished prior to shipment.It should be inspected by a duly notified independent international certifying body that such containers/cylinders are compliant with international safety standards; such containers/cylinders are not older than 10 years; second-hand/used cement bulkers in order to reduce the cost of manufacturing of liquefied gases, etc.

It has been decided to allow import of cement bulker semi-trailers, without prime movers in second-hand/used condition to cement manufacturers for transportation of bulk cement subject to the condition that they will not be older than 10 years.

It has now been decided to extend the facility for 2008-09 for import of prime movers and enhance it by relaxing the age limit to 5 years from 4 years and reducing the minimum fleet requirement to 15 prime movers.

At present Municipal bodies /Corporations/Cantonment Boards can import old/used waste disposal trucks provided they are not more than 15 years old, directly or through their nominated agents for their own use only.

It has now been decided that the facility of importing old/used waste disposal trucks would also be extended to the “authorised contractors” of municipal bodies, etc. However in all cases the imported trucks shall not be older than 10 years.

In order to facilitate physically handicapped persons, it has been decided that used motorcycles or tri-wheeler vehicles especially designed/made or altered for the handicapped would be allowed to be imported, subject to disability certification from the ministry of health.

If Pakistani nationals importing a vehicle are unable to release their vehicle due to high tariff or other reasons, re-export of such vehicle would be allowed by the FBR if there was no contravention of the Import Policy Order during import stage. It has also been decided to do away with the requirement of a driving license for the transfer of residence scheme.

It has been decided that Import of academic, scientific and reference books may be allowed from India. In compliance with the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances 1988, import of Toluene, MEK, Potassium Permanganate would be allowed subject to NOC issued by the Ministry of Narcotics.

It has been decided that import of explosives and chemicals would be allowed subject to approval of Ministry of Industries (Department of Explosives) which will be issued only after NOC from Ministry of Defence Production

In order to avoid any potential disruption to Nadra system and misuse, it has been decided that only Nadra would be allowed to import specialised printers, laminators and laminator rolls used for printing visa stickers and passports

It has been decided that no import of wildlife, including CITES appendix II species, would be allowed without NOC from National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) and the respective provincial wildlife department.

In order to prevent unscrupulous elements from selling unrefined palm oil in the market and endangering public health, it has been decided that only recognised manufacturers would be allowed to import crude palm oil for further processing and refining.

Furthermore manufacturers who import palm oil in crude form will not be allowed to sell it to non manufacturers. However commercial importers who have invested in large bulk storages will be allowed to continue importing crude palm oil subject to a safeguard mechanism to be drawn up by the FBR.

Construction companies or oil and gas companies are presently allowed to import mobile transit mixtures/dumpers. In order to avoid misuse of this facility, certification of the chief executive of a company of the respective sector, endorsing requirement of the contractor, sub-contractor or service companies shall be required.

It will be mandatory to register the imported vehicles with the local registration authority, the vehicles shall be non-transferable, vehicles shall be liable to confiscation in case these are found involved in violation of the above conditions to their importation.

Presently used dump trucks without age limit and designed for off-highway uses with payload capacity exceeding 5 tons are importable by commercial importers. Construction companies however can not import these trucks if they are more than 10 years old. It has now been decided to remove this anomaly by restricting both categories of importers to the above conditions i.e. of not importing trucks more than 10 years old.In compliance with the Montreal Protocol agreement, import of CFC gas based refrigerator and freezing equipments (falling under HS 84.18) are banned. In order to remove any possibility of misuse, it has been decided that import of CFC based compressors may also be banned.

Used and old static road rollers which are not manufactured locally are importable without restriction of capacity and age by commercial importers. In case of a construction company, the limitation is that it should not be older than 10 years and the capacity should not exceed 12 tons.

It has now been decided to remove this anomaly by restricting both categories of importers to the above conditions i.e. these rollers should not be more than 10 years old and the capacity should not exceed 12 tons.