Extended grace period from payment of extra 25% excise tax on motor vehicles expires |17 April 2021

The application for grace extended to vehicle importers who had partially or fully made their payment for their transport between November 17, 2020 and December 17, 2020 to not pay the extra 25% Excise Tax has expired.

This was announced by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning & Trade through a press release issued yesterday by the department of Trade.

Importers had three weeks from March 23, 2021 to submit their applications. Thus since April 13, the department of Trade is no longer accepting new applications.

To note, it was the cabinet of ministers that approved the grace period to exempt those vehicle importers from paying the 25% increase in Excise Tax which came into effect as of January 1, 2021.

The approval came about after the President announced in the National Assembly on November 17, 2020, that importers who have their own foreign exchange account can import their vehicles.

The announcement was made at a time when there was a moratorium on the importation of vehicles.

However, the moratorium was subsequently removed and replaced by the 25% increase in Excise Tax on imported vehicles, which was announced in December 2020.

For more information, please contact the Trade Division of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning & Trade on 4382135.

Press release from the department of Trade