Import of bulletproof vehicles: Senior army officers get tax, duty exemptions

ISLAMABAD: After getting approval from the federal cabinet, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted senior army officers from payment of all duties and taxes on the import of bulletproof vehicles up to 6000cc after their retirement.

The FBR’s Member Customs Policy signed an official notification to this effect here on Friday but it was not yet placed on the website of FBR. However, top official sources confirmed to The News on Friday night that the exemption of Customs Duty, Sales Tax, Withholding Tax and Federal Excise Duty (FED) would be applicable on the import of bulletproof vehicles up to 6,000cc by the top brass of military officers, including Lieutenant Generals, services chiefs, Chief of the Army Staff and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

The sources said that the FBR might place the concerned notification on its website any time soon but all formal requirements were fulfilled after seeking permission from the federal cabinet for allowing this kind of tax exemption.

There will be certain conditions attached to this permission. On the recommendations of the Ministry of Defence, the FBR will allow the exemption of duties and taxes on the import of such vehicles by the said officials on their retirement. All four-star generals have been permitted to import 2 vehicles after retirement.

The owners of the vehicles would be required to obtain prior permission of the FBR for the sale of such vehicles after their import. If the vehicle is disposed of before five-year period, the FBR will recover all duties and taxes applicable at the time of import of such vehicles, the notification was quoted as saying by the relevant sources.