Auto importers seek ‘level playing field’

Vehicle importers want a “level playing field” vis-à-vis domestic assemblers that have already availed of many perks and government assistance, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) said on Thursday. In a press conference, Maria Fe Perez-Agudo, AVID president, said the Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Development Program (CMVDP) or Executive Order (EO) 877-A is a “midnight EO” that should be reviewed.

Perez-Agudo said the Board of Investments (BOI), which is tasked to draft the implementing rules of the CMVDP, should consult AVID—whose members contributed 15 percent of industry sales so far this year.

“The challenge is for DTI [Department of Trade and Industry], BOI and private sector to sit down and look at opportunities both for assemblers and importers,” she said.

The BOI had said that the CMVDP was crafted to boost the competitiveness of auto manufacturing in the country.

But AVID is also seeking representation in the Motor Vehicle Industry Council that would be formed under the CMVDP.

“Policy development should be for all players, not just manufacturers,” said Perez-Agudo, who is also Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) president and chief executive officer.

While the vehicle importation business generates many jobs, it has yet to enjoy the tax perks auto assemblers have been benefiting from over the past four decades, she said.

Despite the generous state support, local assemblers remain uncompetitive and have been left behind by peers in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, Perez-Agudo said.

“How can [manufacturers] ask for more [incentives] when they enjoyed a lot? What else do they need?” she said.

Most of the models being imported by Japanese-led auto companies are slapped zero or minimal tariff under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement or the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, as such vehicles are sourced from within Southeast Asia and Japan.

AVID members import brands from South Korea, China and Europe, imports from which are slapped higher tariffs.

AVID said its members are willing to undergo audit by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which is investigating reports of under valuation—a form of technical smuggling—of some car imports.

Sales of imported vehicles—comprising about 55 percent of industry sales—now outnumber locally assembled ones, as even assemblers such as the Philippine units of Japanese automakers Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu and Nissan are already net importers. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA REPORTER, Manila Times