President of the T&T Automotive Dealers’ Association (TTADA) Visham Babwah said yesterday that some 200 foreign used car dealers could go out of business in 2017 if Government sticks to the vehicle importation policy implemented at the beginning of this year.
He said the new policy has resulted in significant declines in business of 50 to 60 per cent for small and medium used car dealers. However, he could not give a monetary value of losses incurred as each dealer has different quotas.
“The only dealers that would have raked in a profit this year, according to the financial statements, are the big dealers. They are getting foreign exchange to import,” Babwah told the T&T Guardian.
“We are an import driven economy, not a manufacturing or export driven economy, because of various factors . If they stifle the small and medium businesses they will fail.”
Babwah said some dealers were only able to import 20 per cent of their quotas this year.
“There are 565 dealers and with this four year range policy I am sure a lot of them, between 30 to 40 per cent ,will go out of business this coming year,” he said.
The TTADA president also said that usually at the end of December letters to collect licenses are sent to the used car dealers out by the Ministry of Trade. That has not yet happened and Babwah is hoping there are no delays in collecting those documents and no surprises like the ones they had last year when there was a change in the age of vehicles that can be imported into the country.
He said several letters were sent to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley,Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and Minister of Finance Minister Colm Imbert requesting a meeting but there has no response.
“After this last fiscal budget, Minister Gopee-Scoon was in Chaguanas for a budget discussion with the Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce and I was told they were conducting an audit into the industry and soon letters will be sent out for consultation but nothing up to now,” Babwah said.
“Maybe they are thinking that by not engaging the people the problems will go away but it will not.”
Contacted for comment yesterday, Gopee-Scoon, who is currently out of the country, said that the policy has already been reviewed. She said consultations will be held with the dealers in early January.
The revised used car policy
The revised policy, announced on January 15, Trade a Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, is as follows:
• Age limit of gasoline-powered foreign used cars allowed for importation revised to four years from the existing six years with immediate effect.
• Current age limit of three years for diesel-powered cars and four years for CNG-powered cars will be maintained;
• Individuals will be allowed to import foreign used right-hand drive cars for personal use once every four years instead of once every three years. The age limit on such cars imported for personal use will also be four years.
• The Ministry of Trade will temporarily suspend the application process for any new person or business seeking to register as a foreign used car dealer at the Trade Licence Unit (TLU).