Prime Minister Hun Sen called on vehicle owners who have yet to pay any applicable import taxes or related fees due to do so before December 31, in order to benefit from tax breaks currently on offer.
The prime minister made the announcement while presiding over the inauguration of the Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh hotel on December 15.
The General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE) has said that owners of vehicles with a model year before 2021 that were brought into Cambodia without paying import duties or other charges can reduce any levy obligations by at least 10 per cent if they pay them before the end of this year.
It has also said it would also waive related fines and other penalties until June 30, 2022.
Owners of most right-hand drive vehicles, however, must still convert them to left-hand drive by June 30, in accordance with Cambodian road traffic law, or risk having them seized, dismantled or destroyed.
Commenting on the relatively high proportion of right-hand drive vehicles on the road, as well as those with unpaid tax, Hun Sen urged owners to have the conversion done and pay their dues.
“After December 31, 2021, the full tax bill will be paid – there will be no more 10 per cent tax incentives,” he said, highlighting that year-on-year tax revenue growth was in positive territory, albeit below pre-Covid levels.
GDCE spokesman Keam Chankosal affirmed that the tax breaks did not apply to 2021 models or newly-imported vehicles.
He told The Post that the owners of 1,352 left-hand drive and 1,499 right-hand drive vehicles have paid their tax obligations under the scheme, but noted that the GDCE does not have exact figures for the number of vehicles outstanding.
According to Chankosal, the import tax rate varies from 39.15-130.175 per cent, depending on the type of vehicle.
