Car dealer providing import data

Ela Motors is ready to provide information to the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) on the impact of the Government’s reduction of import duties for motor vehicles.
The ICCC, last week, said it would assess the impact of the reduced import duties on the final retail prices for motor vehicles sold by motor vehicle dealers last year.
“We are ready to disclose any information to the ICCC,” Ela Motors chief executive officer Mitsuyoshi Okutsu said.
In 2020, the Government reduced the import duties for motor vehicles (new and used) imported into the country from 80 per cent to 15 per cent and 20 per cent.
The aim of the policy intervention was to ensure that motor vehicles are affordable to locals.
The ICCC decided to carry out an assessment of the impact of the reduced import duties on the final retail prices for motor vehicles sold by motor vehicle dealers in 2020.
It was also an opportunity to verify where the cost savings, as a result of reduced import duties, had been passes onto customers in the final retail prices for motor vehicles.
“Based on our findings from the information collected from some motor vehicle dealers, the cost savings due to the reduced import duties were passed on to consumers in the form of reduced retail prices on vehicle,” it said.
“However, the full extent of the import tariff reduction in the import duties was not passed onto customers by dealers in the final retail prices.
“This can be attributed to notable factors such as the in-country costs of doing business, compounded by the depreciation of the Papua New Guinea Kina against the US dollar and also perceived lack of competition in the motor vehicle dealership market.”