Govt to ban import of used cars for personal use starting in December

Adul Chotenisakorn, director general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the Commerce Ministry has issued a directive to ban the import of used vehicles for personal use, so as to reduce air pollution and for the sake of road safety.
Adul said the ban, which will be enforced on December 10, is also aimed to prevent importers from avoiding paying high tariffs for entirely-imported vehicles by disguising them as used ones.
Adul said the ban was issued after the Commerce Ministry had consulted other government agencies.
He said the department would continue to allow imports of used cranes for construction businesses along with used fire engines and used ambulances that government agencies, state enterprises and charity organisations receive as donations.
Those who want to import used cars for their personal use must bring them in before December 9 and the department will approve their import applications within 25 days. After December 9, the import permits for used vehicles for personal use will not be valid, Adul added.