According to the Minister of Transport, the proceeds will go to a fund to recover public transport and infrastructure
14ymedio, Madrid, 30 July 2024 — Cubans will be able to import vehicles from abroad at the same price as companies, although they will have to pay the tariffs in foreign currency. The measure is expected to take effect in November, as announced on Monday by the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, who advanced on Canal Caribe and the social networks of his department the general lines of the “update” of the rules, which are being carried out. Until now, individuals paid more than businesses, but when the reform enters into force the sales prices will be adjusted, said the official, “so they will not vary if the buyer is a legal or natural person”; therefore, “the prices will be lower than the current ones.”
This is intended, he said, to facilitate “people’s access, with the capacity to do so, to different alternatives to meet their mobility needs from their own resources.”
This is intended, he said, to facilitate “people’s access, with the ability to do so, to different alternatives to meet their mobility needs from their own resources”
With the money raised, Rodríguez Dávila said, a fund will be created, managed by the Ministry of Transport, which will be nourished by the tariffs and will be “destined for the recovery and development of public transport and its infrastructure.”
Among the novelties is the authorization to import mopeds and motorcycles that have a combustion engine or are hybrid as long as they are of low cylinder capacity, which opens the possibility of acquiring these vehicles, which until now had to be electric (the so-called motorinas). With this energy source, the options are extended to electric tricycles with more than two seats or with charging capacity, which can also be imported.
A special tax on the sale of vehicles is established that will depend on their type, ranging from 35% of total value for high-end ones to an exemption when it comes to electric vehicles assembled in Cuba. In addition, there will be a progressive tax, also, of course, in foreign currency, depending on the number of vehicles that people own above three for motorcycles, cars and trucks. There is a limit to the number bought in a period; people and companies are authorized to buy a maximum of six vehicles in five years.
Another novelty is the possibility of transmitting ownership of these goods, with the exception of state legal entities, which need authorization from the Council of Ministers to grant them to an individual, and foreign diplomats, who are governed by a special system.
In addition, “a onetime import of vehicles to people who are on official missions abroad is authorized, according to the conditions that will be established by their agencies.”
“A one-time import of vehicles is authorized to people who are on official missions abroad, according to the conditions that will be established by their agencies”
Finally, there is a measure aimed at the sale in national currency, detached from import, which is the possibility of acquiring the vehicles that are available in the Cuban market, including those that conclude their operation in the tourism sector, provided that they are in good technical condition. To date, the option has been limited by the low number of vehicles.
Thus, the authorities seem to have found the solution to the problems of the Cuban roads that, in the words of Manuel Marrero, are capable of “melting” quality cars. The minister believes that the new measures will contribute to “modernizing vehicles in the country, achieving greater road safety, stimulating national production and assembly, and the greater use of vehicles with clean energy.”
The statement has already been contested on social networks. “The same thing was said with the stores in MLC [freely convertible currency], that the money raised was going to be used to supply the stores in national currency. And nothing happened, it was just one more lie,” a user reacted to the Canal Caribe video.
Pending the articulation of these measures, what the authorities did let drop in detail is the painful road situation in which the collected currencies are allegedly intended to be invested.
In his speech in the National Assembly, the report of the Ministry of Transport delivered lethal data: of the 1,109,298 square meters of road surface affected by potholes, only 247,359 were repaired. Of the 127 kilometers of provincial and municipal roads planned for repair in the first half of the year, only 69 had been completed. Of the 25 hot and cold asphalt concrete plants operating in Cuba, 12 are “paralyzed by breakage.” This summary explains the high accident rate on Cuban roads, not to mention the shortcomings of public transport.
Last week, in an interview with 14ymedio granted by Alejandro Martínez, president of the car import company in Miami, Maravana Cargo, the businessman was optimistic about a possible legislative modification of the Cuban Government that, he considered, would be favorable to his interests. “It’s not about my optimism, it’s about being practical. Where there must be optimism is there, where the problems and the need exist. The impression I have is that it’s going to be the other way around. There will be a flexibilization of many things in that sense,” he said.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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