Car Sales Decline After Govt Announces People Importing Cars Should Pay Duty In Forex

A  snap survey by The Chronicle in Bulawayo’s Central Business District (CBD) revealed that car dealers now sell an average of two vehicles compared to the usual five vehicles per week.

This comes after Government announced that people importing vehicles will now pay duty in foreign currency. Most car dealers said they sell in United States dollars and only accept bond notes and bank transfers at a rate of US$1: $3 bond notes. One of the dealers along Fife Street said business has gone down by 50 percent. He said it was now difficult to import cars after Government decided to charge duty in forex. Mr Tendai Mubaiwa urged Government to revise its policy. Said Mubaiwa:

We now have a three tier pricing system which is a threat to our business. Right now we cannot import vehicles because we do not have enough forex to pay for the vehicles and also pay duty. Government has to revisit this policy because we are losing customers. We have customers who prepaid for vehicles and we have their money. We are now forced to review the prices upwards which means they have to pay top up. Paying duty in local currency was easier because we did not need to look for foreign currency.

More: Chronicle