Automobile traders awaiting Cabinet’s response on hybrid’s taxes suggestions

AMMAN — Car traders are waiting for the government “overdue” response on considering their proposals on hybrid cars taxes, stakeholders said.

Hybrid car buyers used to pay a reduced special sales tax of 25 per cent of the price instead of 55 per cent for regular fuel cars.

The government decided to cancel the exemptions in 2012, but the decision has been always postponed since then. This year, the government cancelled the exemptions and added another tax, calculated on the basis of the car’s weight, on all types cars ranging between JD500 to JD1,500.

Since the decision took effect on February 1, traders reported “zero” customs clearance of hybrid vehicles.

The sector leaders met with the government last week and presented a set of suggestions to “rescue the collapsed business” and were pledged to have their suggestions studied within a week, Jordan Free Zone Investor Commission President Nabeel Rumman said on Thursday.

The suggestions included lowering the clearance tax from 55 to 30 per cent and increasing the tax of scrapping old fuel-run cars and exchanging them for hybrid vehicles from 12.5 to 25 per cent, Abu Rumman.

“This will double the public revenues from hybrid vehicles from JD110 to JD220 million, in addition to the customs clearance tax which generate JD400 million”, according to Abu Rumman,

adding that the no revenues now as the decision has increased the prices of hybrids between JD4,000 and JD8,000, which deterred residents from buying this sort of cars at all.

The Jordan Automobile Agents and Automotive Parts President Tarik Tabba that he and his colleagues met with Finance Minister Omar Malhas, who pledged to considered the suggestions.

“We also demanded cancelling the tax on weight of all vehicles, Tabaa”, told The Jordan Times.