The Finance Ministry on December 3 issued an order amending the vehicleimport tariff, in keeping with Vietnam's commitment to the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) on tax reduction.
According to the ministry,the duty on passenger cars, including station wagons, sport cars andmotor homes (self-propelled recreational vehicles which offer livingaccommodation), as well as cars with less than 10 seats and an enginecapacity of less than 2.5 litres, will be cut from 67 percent to 64percent.
Meanwhile, the duty on four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicleswill be reduced from 70 percent to 59 percent, while the import tariffon trucks with a loading capacity of less than five tonnes will bereduced from 59 percent to 56 percent.
The tariff on motorcycles, sidecars and mopeds will also be reduced from 47 percent to 40 percent.
All tariff cuts will take effect on January 1, 2015, according to the ministry.
Car importers reacted with excitement at the amendments.
"Fromnext year, the Vietnamese people will have more opportunities to owncars at more reasonable prices, and of course, our business will bebetter as well," said Nguyen Van Dung, General Director of NorthernAutomobile, a prominent car dealer in Hanoi.
However, Dung saidthat the duty cut will pose a serious threat to the country's autoindustry, which is expected to compete with the price and quality ofimported cars.
"The price gap between the imported cars and thelocally assembled vehicles will be further narrowed." said Nguyen DinhTung, sales manager at EuCar company in Hanoi.
ASEAN members'auto imports are already receiving a preferential 50 percent importtariff since early 2014, as a result of the ASEAN Trade in GoodsAgreement (ATIGA). In addition, following commitments made to the ASEAN,auto import duties will be completely abolished in 2018.
ASEANwill waive tariffs on car imports between ASEAN member countries, aswell as from Japan, the Republic of Korea and China, who are all partyto the agreement.
According to the General Statistics Office(GSO), from January to November this year, the total car import valuereached 1.23 billion USD, a 100.7 percent year-on-year increase.
Thefigure means that the country is likely to spend 1.5 billion USD onauto imports in 2014, the highest level so far in Vietnam's history.-VNA
According to the ministry,the duty on passenger cars, including station wagons, sport cars andmotor homes (self-propelled recreational vehicles which offer livingaccommodation), as well as cars with less than 10 seats and an enginecapacity of less than 2.5 litres, will be cut from 67 percent to 64percent.
Meanwhile, the duty on four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicleswill be reduced from 70 percent to 59 percent, while the import tariffon trucks with a loading capacity of less than five tonnes will bereduced from 59 percent to 56 percent.
The tariff on motorcycles, sidecars and mopeds will also be reduced from 47 percent to 40 percent.
All tariff cuts will take effect on January 1, 2015, according to the ministry.
Car importers reacted with excitement at the amendments.
"Fromnext year, the Vietnamese people will have more opportunities to owncars at more reasonable prices, and of course, our business will bebetter as well," said Nguyen Van Dung, General Director of NorthernAutomobile, a prominent car dealer in Hanoi.
However, Dung saidthat the duty cut will pose a serious threat to the country's autoindustry, which is expected to compete with the price and quality ofimported cars.
"The price gap between the imported cars and thelocally assembled vehicles will be further narrowed." said Nguyen DinhTung, sales manager at EuCar company in Hanoi.
ASEAN members'auto imports are already receiving a preferential 50 percent importtariff since early 2014, as a result of the ASEAN Trade in GoodsAgreement (ATIGA). In addition, following commitments made to the ASEAN,auto import duties will be completely abolished in 2018.
ASEANwill waive tariffs on car imports between ASEAN member countries, aswell as from Japan, the Republic of Korea and China, who are all partyto the agreement.
According to the General Statistics Office(GSO), from January to November this year, the total car import valuereached 1.23 billion USD, a 100.7 percent year-on-year increase.
Thefigure means that the country is likely to spend 1.5 billion USD onauto imports in 2014, the highest level so far in Vietnam's history.-VNA
