The federal government has abolished the Personal Baggage Scheme used for importing second-hand vehicles, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan told the National Assembly, while announcing tighter conditions on the remaining Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes to prevent their commercial misuse.
The minister was responding to a question during Question Hour from MNA Dr Shazia Sobia, who asked whether the scheme had been scrapped to curb commercial exploitation and sought details of the revised vehicle import policy. The Economic Coordination Committee and the federal cabinet had approved the decision.
In a written reply submitted to the House, the commerce ministry said vehicles imported under the retained Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes must now meet the same minimum safety, environmental and regulatory standards applied to commercial used-vehicle imports.
The ministry outlined several other changes to the policy. The interval between vehicle imports under these schemes has been extended from two years to three years, and vehicles imported under them cannot be transferred for one year after import.
The minimum period applicants must have stayed abroad has also been raised to three years, with a cumulative stay requirement of at least 850 days, applicable across all schemes. Additionally, the requirement that a vehicle be imported from the same country where the sender resides will now apply only to the Transfer of Residence Scheme.
According to the ministry, the revisions followed consultations with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. Officials said the schemes were originally designed to help overseas Pakistanis import vehicles for personal use, but the Personal Baggage Scheme in particular had been widely misused for commercial purposes. The updated framework was formalised through SRO 61(I)/2026, dated January 15, 2026.
The ministry said it was too early to gauge the full impact of the revised policy on vehicle imports overall, though it acknowledged that import volumes could decline following the withdrawal of the Personal Baggage Scheme and the stricter conditions now attached to the remaining schemes.
In a separate written reply, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said no part of the country permits the import of vehicles without payment of applicable duties and taxes. He was responding to a question from MNA Moin Aamer Pirzada, who had asked whether any region of Pakistan allowed duty- and tax-free vehicle imports.
