KARACHI, March 24: The fate of 15 CNG buses, which had arrived at the Karachi port over seven months ago, hangs in the balance as the transport company plans to challenge a government notification describing the buses as of Indian origin.

“We will challenge in a court of law the government notification giving us one-time import authorisation on already imported 15 CNG buses on the payment of the leviable duty, taxes and in addition to redemption fine equal to 30 per cent of their C&F value,” said Ahmad Shabbir, the chief executive of Swede Bus Pakistan Ltd.

Local manufacturers of trucks and buses made hue and cry over the import of the 15 CNG buses as they claimed that the buses were of Indian origin and were imported to Pakistan despite a ban on import of vehicles from the neighbouring country.

On the other hand, the transport company claimed that the buses were imported from Sharjah as completely built-up units but assembled and manufactured in the UAE from components.

His stance was also verified by Pakistan Embassy’s commercial section in Abu Dhabi, which in response to a Federal Board of Revenue query about the origin of these buses, confirmed that the 15 CNG buses were manufactured by the Trans-Continental Industries (TCI), Abu Dhabi, and in value terms the contribution of Indian parts in the CNG buses ranged between 30 and 35 per cent only but the assembly of the body was done by the TCI.

In the meantime, the city and provincial governments tried their best to get the buses released but they failed to do so. Finally, the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet declared the buses as of Indian origin and conditionally allowed their release on payment of duty, taxes and fine equal to 30 per cent of the buses value.

However, Mr Shabbir is not satisfied with the decision and is ready to fight his case by approaching an appropriate forum for lunching a legal battle.

“My buses are not of Indian origin. The government took a unilateral decision without consulting me,” he said. “We want to provide a respectable, affordable and sustainable urban transport to the people of Karachi but it seems to me that it is not an easy task.”

In 2003 the Swede bus company launched a Green Bus Service in Karachi but the skyrocketing fuel price compelled the company to shut shop.