KARACHI – Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) has taken a beating recently due to weak sales, price increases, tax rate hikes and import restrictions, which are the the curse of the auto business. The government’s most recent plans to raise taxes even higher could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Pak Suzuki, Pakistan’s largest automotive firm by sales and manufacturing volume, has written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, asking him not to approve the planned increase in taxes and duties on the automotive sector.
Pak Suzuki said, ”Here, we would like to bring to kind notice that PSMC is going through the very worst of times in its history of about 40 years. The company has already suffered huge losses of Rs. 12.9 billion in the first quarter of the current year due to current economic uncertainties.”
”The company is also observing many ‘No Production Days’ every month throughout the year. In addition to this, our dealers and vendors are suffering very badly due to the current economic and business situation, as some of them are already closed and many more are on the brink of closure,” the company added.
Pak Suzuki asked the prime minister not to raise taxes on automobiles up to 1000cc, given that the automaker’s lineup is largely automobiles with 1000cc or smaller engines.
The automobile sector has spoken out against the government’s intentions to raise taxes in the next budget.
