E-Paper
Sign In
Pakistanis in UAE, other nations barred from used car imports under ‘personal baggage’ scheme
Vehicles imported under the two categories “transfer of residence and gift schemes” will not be allowed to transfer ownership for one year from the date of importation
- PUBLISHED: Fri 16 Jan 2026, 1:18 PM
- By:
- Waheed Abbas
- Share:
Pakistan has banned the import of cars under the “personal baggage” scheme for overseas Pakistanis living in the UAE, Gulf and other countries.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Economy has amended its Import Policy Order 2022 and issued a new Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 61 (I)/2006 on Thursday, allowing only importing cars under the “transfer of residence and gift schemes”.
Recommended For You
Vehicles imported under the two categories will not be allowed to transfer ownership for one year from the date of importation.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels
The ministry’s notifications said that vehicles imported under the transfer of residence scheme shall be from the same country where the overseas Pakistani resides.
There are over nine million Pakistani diaspora living in other countries around the world, including more than half, 5.5 million, in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
In the UAE alone, there are over 1.7 million Pakistani citizens living across the seven Emirates, especially in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Moreover, the ministry has extended the time frame to import vehicles from 700 days to 850 days from the date on which the Goods Declaration for the last import under this order was filed.
In addition, minimum safety, environmental standards and regulatory measures as applicable to commercial importation of used vehicles, duly notified by the Ministry of Industries and Production or the Engineering Development Board, shall apply mutatis mutandis to vehicles imported under the gift and transfer of residence schemes.
As reported by Khaleej Times earlier, Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet approved the Economic Coordination Committee's decision, taken on December 9, 2025, to allow the import of used vehicles up to 3 years old under the Transfer of Residence and Gift Schemes.
Earlier, automakers urged the Pakistani government to scrap used car import schemes.
The latest figures revealed that car sales in Pakistan increased 46 per cent during the first half of 2025, with a total of over 13,200 units sold.
