Ministry to remove imported used vehicles from Vientiane warehouse
Ministry to remove imported used vehicles from Vientiane warehouse
The Ministry of Finance has announced it will remove all imported used vehicles from the warehouse at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge in Vientiane by the end of this year.
Currently about 33 second-hand vehicles are stored at the warehouse after being imported into Laos. They will be confiscated if importers don't claim them, customs officers said.
The government rolled out a ban on the import of second-hand vehicles last year in a bid to ease traffic congestion in Vientiane. But importers are saying they should be allowed to keep the vehicles they ordered before the ban came into effect.
In the meantime, these vehicles have become stranded at the warehouse because importers are reluctant to pay the higher import duty that was imposed under the ban. Importers are now required to pay import duty of 100 percent, plus a fine that equates to 30 percent of the vehicle's value.
Finance Ministry Office Head, Mr Bounzoum Sisavath, told Vientiane Times this week importers would find it difficult to make a profit on the sale of these vehicles because of the large tariff and fine they would have to pay.
A taskforce committee comprising representatives from the ministries of Finance, Public Works and Transport, and Industry and Commerce has been set up to consider the matter.
“We are in the process of negotiating with the companies who have imported these vehicles,” Mr Bounzoum said. “If they don't claim them, we will confiscate the vehicles and then put them up for auction.”
According to a senior tax officer working at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, after the ban was imposed last year the number of used vehicles stored at the warehouse soared to about 1,000. However, many were claimed by importers last month.
He said the owners claimed their vehicles after they were issued with a deadline, and now only 33 remain.
Mr Bounzoum said the government will no long consider any case related to the import of second-hand vehicles, saying the remaining vehicles will be the last to be cleared.
Second-hand vehicles were previously popular with Lao motorists because they were affordable. But their lower price was thought to be a factor in the rapid increase in the number of vehicles in Laos and the subsequent traffic congestion.
The government decided to end the import of second-hand vehicles in a bid to ease traffic congestion in Vientiane and encourage more people to buy new, more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Vientiane is a small city with a population of less than 800,000, but the number of registered vehicles exceeds 577,890.
In the first seven months of this year, more than 39,340 vehicles were registered in Vientiane including 24,292 motorbikes, 3967 cars, 5,429 pick-up trucks, 1,542 Jeeps, 1,092 vans, 2,886 trucks and 134 buses.
Transport officials estimate that between 5,000 and 6,000 vehicles were registered in the capital each month this year.
vientiane times
