Lahore: New rules for vehicles’ sale, purchase annoying people

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Agent mafia minting money from customers
* Traders’ representative says 3,000 unregistered vehicles standing in showrooms

By Nauman Tasleem

LAHORE: The new rules introduced by the Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department for the sale and purchase of vehicles have become a nuisance for the people instead of a relief, as people now have to pay heavy fines, and bribe the agents, Daily Times learnt on Thursday.

The E&T Department amended the rules for purchasing and selling vehicles on February 14, according to which the buyers and sellers are bound to remain present in the office during the transfer process.

The rules said vehicles – including motorbikes and cars – could not be transferred without the presence of transferee and transferor. According to the rules, additional 25 percent of registration charges will be imposed as a fine for not getting a new vehicle registered within 50 days. Moreover, if a vehicle is not registered within 120 days, the fine will be 50 percent, and 100 percent after 240 days. For instance, if the registration charges were Rs 10,000, then 100 percent fine would be Rs 10,000, thus the buyer would have to pay Rs 20,000.

Agents: The rules have provided another opportunity to the agent mafia to mint money from customers. In a number of cases, the sellers were not available due to certain reasons – like being out of city or country – but even then vehicles were being transferred, sources in the E&T Department told Daily Times. They said it was now next to impossible for a common man to get his vehicle transferred without the presence of both parties. Asim Abdullah, an executive of a company, bought a vehicle some two weeks ago, but could not get it transferred due to the absence of either party. “When I had time, the seller was not available, and when the seller was ready to come, I was busy,” Abdullah said, adding the E&T Department should make such rules that facilitate the people instead of burdening them. He said he had contacted an agent, who assured him of the transfer without the presence of both parties.

Showrooms: The rules are not creating problems only for the people but for showroom owners also. Showroom owners said they had a number of unregistered vehicles with them, and when anyone would come to the showroom, he would try to avoid buying vehicles delivered more than 50 days ago because fine would be implemented on such vehicles, which the customer would have to pay along with the registration fee.

“The buyers often tell us to pay the fine, as it was not their fault that the vehicle was delivered before 50 days,” said Rizwan Goraya, the owner of a showroom on Jail Road. He said the government should reverse the rules, as they had adversely affected the sales of new cars. “Banks have already squeezed the credit, while the financial crunch has troubled people. Under such rules, doing business has become impossible,” he said.

Jail Road Traders’ Association Secretary General Zafar Iqbal said showrooms in the city had almost 3,000 newly-purchased vehicles, and they were not yet registered.

He said the association had requested the E&T officials to give time to the showrooms owners or delay the implementation of the rules for two months. “We have written a letter, and have meet the officials, who assured us to amend the rules,” Iqbal said, adding that the association had been informed by the officials that a letter that was writing to the Punjab chief secretary about reviewing the rules. “The government should take all stakeholders into confidence before making any rules,” he said.

E&T Department Additional Secretary Masoodul Haq said the rule of presence of buyer and seller had been introduced to stop illegal transfer of vehicles. He said the other rule was to check the delay in registration. “These rules are correct, and do not cause any problem to the people,” he said, adding that the rules would not be changed.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...09_pg13_10