— National Standard Committee to discuss issue today
ISLAMABAD: Though the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) have held various meetings over developing a national standard for vehicles being manufactured/ assembled in the country, the two ministries are yet to develop consensus over the issue.
On the direction of The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has taken notice of poor quality of local vehicles last month, the two ministries are holding meetings on the same issue. However, according to insiders, a consensus has not been made in this regard, for, what the sources claim, reluctance of local auto firms and Engineering Development Board (EDB), an arm of MoIP, regarding accepting the standards set by Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) an organization of MOST.
As per an official source, a meeting of the national standard committee was held on Wednesday; however, it ended without any progress for differences among stakeholders. Another meeting in this regard is scheduled to be held at the MoIP on Thursday (today) to discuss the standard set by PSQCA so far regarding the auto industry.
The MoST, after the strong direction by PAC, was asked whether it has developed any standard for ensuring quality of the vehicles. As per available documents, the ministry has informed MoIP and other stakeholders that PSQCA, being the only national standard body, has developed standards for various components/parts of vehicles while many are in process which would be completed within the next three to six months.
MoST claims the automobile division is working under Directorate of Standards PSQCA and has developed various standards in the sector. However keeping in view the fact that the Government of Pakistan has acceded to the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the efforts are being made to either formulate local standards based on UN Regulation or directly adopt relevant international regulations. In this regard multiple technical committees of relevant stakeholders have been working. The updated status is listed below:
As per the action plan of PSQCA, regarding safety standards of vehicles, which has been shared with stakeholders, a list regarding the approved and under process standards has been shared with the ministries and stakeholders.
Last month the PAC had formed a five-member inter-ministerial committee comprising five ministries to ensure the supply of vehicles in accordance with safety standards while directing the Auditor General of Pakistan and Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) officials to provide details of amounts and taxes collected from consumers by the auto companies.
The meeting of the Public Accounts Committee was held under Chairman Noor Alam Khan in which a briefing was given to the committee on the delivery of vehicles. The PAC directed all the concerned ministries to implement other safety standards for vehicles, including Euro-5. The PAC asked the Auditor General of Pakistan to check the accounts of auto companies and production capacity. The PAC also directed the FBR to provide details about the value of import of spare parts of vehicles.
A PAC meeting in this regard is likely to be held soon in which the progress on the same issue would be analyzed.
