What PAMA is asking for
Pakistan’s main car makers have pressed Islamabad to reopen rules for the car gift scheme in Pakistan after used-vehicle arrivals under that route climbed from seven units in May 2026 to 2,238 in September. In a 28 October letter to Haroon Akhtar Khan, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production, the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) argued that the facility is being stretched far past genuine personal gifts and is flooding the market with thousands of second-hand cars.
PAMA said it still supports proper facilitation for overseas Pakistanis under SRO 61(I)/2026, issued on 15 January 2026. At the same time, it warned that the month-by-month jump points to commercial trading dressed up as gifts, and it asked for safeguards plus a face-to-face meeting to table its proposals.
How fast gift-route imports grew
Figures shared in the letter show gift-route volumes at 806 units in June, 1,876 in July, 1,406 in August and 2,238 in September. By September, PAMA estimated that path covered roughly 98 percent of all used-vehicle arrivals, while the Transfer of Residence channel barely registered.
The lobby group also noted that traffic which once moved through the Baggage Scheme has, within a few months, swung almost entirely onto the gift route. That swing, it said, raises hard questions about how overseas certification and approvals are checked before cars leave for Pakistan.
Separately, earlier this month other industry voices flagged a reported 4,600 percent rise in used-car arrivals and voiced similar worries about abuse of the same facility. Together, the numbers frame a rapid reopening of the used-import door through one preferential path.
Pressure on local factories and tariffs
PAMA reminded the government that domestic assemblers have put more than a trillion rupees into local manufacturing. It said more than 31 brands and over 100 models are built at 13 plants, with localisation near 60 percent in many categories. A flood of gift-route used cars, it argued, undercuts that investment, employment and further plant spending.
The association also criticised recent duty relief under the National Tariff Policy, including depreciation allowances of as much as 60 percent on used imported cars. In PAMA’s view, those steps, alongside heavy gift-route volumes, tilt buyers away from locally built vehicles. It wants certification and monitoring reviewed so the car gift scheme in Pakistan cannot be run as a parallel commercial import pipe.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 15 January 2026: SRO 61(I)/2026 sets facilitation for overseas Pakistanis under the Gift Scheme.
- May 2026: Only seven units enter through the gift route.
- June–August 2026: Volumes climb to 806, then 1,876, then 1,406 units.
- September 2026: Arrivals hit 2,238; PAMA says the gift route is about 98% of used-vehicle imports.
- Early October 2026: Broader data cited a 4,600 percent rise in used-car imports; importers also flag abuse concerns.
- 28 October 2026: PAMA’s letter to Haroon Akhtar Khan seeks an urgent review, tighter checks and a meeting.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ke car makers ne sarkar se kaha hai ke used gaariyon ka gift route galat tareeqe se use ho raha hai. May 2026 mein sirf 7 gaariyan aai thin, September mein yeh number 2,238 tak pahunch gaya. Association ke mutabiq September ki almost tamam used imports isi gift route se aa rahi hain. Agar yeh silsila jari raha to local factories, naukrian aur investment par dabao pad sakta hai.
