No revision for imported car duties

The government has no plans for a downward revision of excise duty for imported and locally manufactured cars, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed told the
Dewan Rakyat today.

He said a sudden reduction in excise duty will have a significant impact on government’s revenue from excise duty now estimated at RM7 billion a year.

A reduction will also harm the overall growth of the domestic automotive industry, he said.

“The government is aware that the domestic automotive industry has to be developed further to become more competitive and offer more benefits to the people, particularly in selling cars at a reasonable price,” he said when replying to Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PAS-Machang) during question time.

Saifuddin wanted to know the main components in the National Automotive Policy that are being reviewed and whether the government intends to lower the excise duty for Made-in-Malaysia cars.

Mustapa said the government has unveiled several important initiatives under the NAP to tackle reduction in car prices. — Bernama