Saudi Arabia's vehicle imports fall to record lows after massive hike in VAT
VAT has been tripled in Saudi Arabia, a country where imported vehicles are a common sight.The last spurt in sales was in June when there was pent-up demand post lockdown and people rushing to buy before the hiked VAT came into effect.
File photo used for representational purpose.
Saudi Arabia’s vehicle imports plummeted in July to the lowest level since 2015 - the earliest data available - after the government tripled its value-added tax.
Imports of vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment fell 64% year-on-year to 3.9 billion riyals ($1 billion), and by over a quarter from the previous month. That helped drag down overall imports by more than 30% annually after they appeared to recover in June.
Officials and analysts attributed a June spike in consumer spending to pent-up demand after the government lifted its coronavirus lockdown - and to Saudis rushing to beat the hike in VAT to 15%.
First Published Date: 29 Sep 2020, 07:59 AM IST
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