Over a thousand tax-free automobiles from Japanese carmaker Honda have been imported from Thailand into Vietnam, and their prices are expected to fall by nearly VND200 million ($8,784) apiece.

A total of 1,054 duty-free Honda cars arrived at Hiep Phuoc Port in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

A zero percent import tariff was applied on the vehicles instead of 30 percent like in the past, in accordance with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).

ASEAN is short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is a political and economic organization whose members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

According to an official announcement from Honda Vietnam, compact SUV Honda CR-V prices were listed at between VND958 million ($42,076) and VND1.068 billion ($46,907).

Compared to their previous cost, when the 30 percent tax was in place, the CR-V 1.5E and CR-V 1.5G decreased by VND178 million ($7,818) and VND188 million ($8,257) per car, respectively.

The price reduction was also applied to the Honda Jazz, which sells for VND539 million ($23,673) to VND619 million ($27,187) apiece, and Honda Civic, whose highest price is VND898 million ($39,441).

However, there are no changes to the cost of the Civic 1.5L and Accord, which sells for VND898 million and VND1.198 billion ($52,617), respectively.

A reduction was already applied to these two lines of cars last year, a Honda representative explained.

According to local car dealers, customers still need to wait until April to be able to purchase these automobiles.

“The vehicles will need to undergo several tests as part of the customs clearance process,” a customs officer at Hiep Phuoc Port stated.

About VND250 billion ($10.9 million) is expected to be contributed to the state budget following the purchase of these cars, thanks to a 35 to 40 percent excise tariff and value added tax (VAT), he continued.

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