If you've searched for "Pakistan's Import Policy Order 2026," you've probably noticed something confusing: there's no single new document by that name. The Import Policy Order currently in force is still legally the Import Policy Order, 2022 — the Ministry of Commerce doesn't rewrite it from scratch each year, it amends it, section by section, through a running series of Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs). What people are really searching for when they type "2026" is the latest round of those amendments, and this year's batch is more consequential than most, especially if you import vehicles or handle restricted-category goods. At Falcon Global Logistics, this is exactly the kind of moving regulatory target our clearing team tracks on clients' behalf, so here's what has actually changed.
Why There's No Single "2026" Document
Pakistan's Import Policy Order and Export Policy Order are both issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950, and the Ministry of Commerce updates them through SROs rather than replacing them outright. That's why an importer researching current rules needs to check not just the base 2022 order, but every amending SRO issued since — including the ones from this year. It's a structurally confusing system, and it's one of the most common reasons importers get caught off guard: they read the original 2022 order, assume it's current, and miss an amendment that changed the exact clause covering their shipment.
The Biggest 2025–2026 Change: Used Vehicle Imports
The most significant amendment cluster this cycle concerns vehicle imports, and it runs in two directions at once — one door opening, one closing.
Commercial imports opened up
Following an Economic Coordination Committee directive tied to Pakistan's IMF program, the Ministry of Commerce issued an SRO permitting commercial import of used vehicles for the first time in years — removing the long-standing prohibition under Serial No. 10, Appendix-C of the Import Policy Order, 2022. The rollout is staged: initially limited to vehicles under five years old, with that age restriction scheduled to lift in July 2026. Imported used vehicles carry a tariff set 40% above new-vehicle rates, declining 10 percentage points annually until it reaches zero by 2029–30, and must meet environmental, safety, and quality standards that the Engineering Development Board was tasked with finalizing.
Personal routes tightened sharply
At the same time, a separate SRO amending Paragraph 16 and Appendix-B overhauled the personal-import side of vehicle policy. The "Personal Baggage" scheme — long used by overseas Pakistanis to bring in a vehicle without commercial licensing — has been removed entirely. For the Gift and Transfer of Residence schemes that remain, the waiting period between imports has been extended to 850 days, measured from the date the Goods Declaration was filed on the previous import — not the date the vehicle physically arrived. Transfer of Residence vehicles must now originate from the same country where the importer actually resided, closing a routing loophole that previously allowed sourcing from elsewhere. Both remaining schemes now carry a one-year minimum holding period before resale, and imported vehicles must meet the same commercial-grade safety and environmental standards as regular imports.
| Import Route | 2026 Status | Key Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial (used, <5 yrs) | Newly permitted | 40% tariff premium, declining to 0% by 2029–30 |
| Personal Baggage | Abolished | No longer an available import route |
| Gift | Restricted further | 850-day re-import wait; 1-year resale hold |
| Transfer of Residence | Restricted further | Must originate from actual country of residence |
The Broader Restricted-Goods List Hasn't Gone Away
Vehicle policy gets the headlines, but it isn't the only part of the Import Policy Order that trips up importers. The 2022 baseline still carries a "negative list" restricting roughly 800 items across 33 categories classified as luxury or non-essential goods — spanning consumer electronics, certain home appliances, footwear, and select food items — alongside long-standing bans on goods originating from India and Israel, and restrictions on live animals and animal-derived products from BSE-affected countries. None of that has been repealed; it's simply been amended around the edges as economic conditions and IMF commitments shift. If your commodity sits anywhere near that list, the safe assumption is that its exact status has changed at least once since 2022, and needs to be re-verified before every booking, not just the first one.
What This Means for Your Shipments
- If you deal in vehicles at all — commercial, gift, or transfer of residence — re-read your specific route's current rules before your next booking. The commercial door opened; the personal doors got noticeably narrower.
- Track your Goods Declaration filing dates, not shipment dates. The new 850-day vehicle re-import clock runs from GD filing, and that same principle of "the paperwork date is the legal date" applies across several other Import Policy Order provisions.
- Re-verify restricted/banned status per shipment for anything in the roughly 800-item negative list, especially consumer electronics, appliances, and food items that sit close to the "luxury/non-essential" classification boundary.
- Watch for standards notifications from the Engineering Development Board and Ministry of Industries — several 2025–2026 amendments are conditional on technical standards being finalized after the SRO itself is issued.
This ties directly into the procedural side we covered in our post on customs clearance regulation changes: the Import Policy Order governs what can be imported and under what conditions, while WeBOC and PSW filing govern how that import gets processed. Getting the Import Policy Order status wrong upstream is what turns a routine clearance into a held shipment downstream.
Conclusion: Track the Amendments, Not Just the Baseline
Pakistan's Import Policy Order isn't rewritten every year, but it is amended constantly — and 2025–2026 delivered one of the more consequential rounds in recent memory, particularly for vehicle importers. The practical lesson holds for every category, not just cars: the 2022 document is your starting point, never your current answer. Our clearing and forwarding team tracks every amending SRO as it's issued, so clients don't find out about a policy change from a held container.
At Falcon Global Logistics, we verify current Import Policy Order status as a standard part of every import booking we handle. Contact us today to confirm your shipment's compliance before you book.