KARACHI, March 25: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) has held back provisional certificates of the Chinese bike makers endangering registration of two-wheelers.

In case the assemblers do not get the certificates by March 31, the Excise and Taxation department will stop registration of two-wheelers manufactured by them.

All the bike makers have already submitted their input/output data to the EDB complying to the requirement under SRO(I)/ 2006 but the majority of them have still not got the certificate. The current certificate of the assemblers will expire on March 31, 2008.

All Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA), a group of Chinese bike makers, in a letter informed the EDB that the uncertain situation in the industry was likely to cause business disruption leading to severe losses to the industry at large and the national exchequer.

The association said that since the members had already submitted undertaking to the EDB for getting a certificate so there is no justification of holding the certificates.

The APMA urged the EDB to revalidate the certificate for the term ending June 2008. “In case the board fails to comply with the request by March 27, the association will be constrained to exercise its legal right by going to the court seeking remedy with costs and consequences to be born by the EDB,” APMA chairman Mohammad Sabir Shaikh said.

He said more than 40 assemblers out of 53 Chinese bike makers had been facing this problem. However, he said, that some Chinese bike makers, who have become members of Japanese dominated assemblers’ body — Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) — have got the certificates.

Mr Sabir said that the Excise and Taxation department requires five basic documents for smooth registration of bikes, which include a valid EDB’s certificate, a certificate of production by the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), trade mark certificate/application for legal purpose, a certificate of registration from Income Tax department and a certificate from the Sales Tax department.

In the event of expiry of any of these five certificates, the motor vehicle registration department can stop registration of bikes and vehicles, he added. He alleged that the EDB had remained under influence of Japanese bike assemblers, particularly the maker of Honda 70cc two-wheelers. The market share of Honda was 80 per cent five years back when there were only three or four Chinese bike makers. Now its share is just 40-50 per cent.

It may be pointed out that five years back Honda 70cc bike was priced at Rs70,000 but after stiff competition from the Chinese bikes the company had to reduce its price to Rs50,000. On the contrary, the price of Chinese bikes hovers between Rs33,000-35,000.

Pakistan’s total production of bikes during July-December 2007 stood at 500,000 units in which the share of Chinese bike was 50 per cent.