Following recent threshold increases, the uptake of the instant asset write-off scheme may have been successful, but its execution is not without challenges due to stock and customs delays, says peak automotive body, the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC).
“The instant asset write-off system is working very well but the delivery cut-off date, for vehicles that have already been ordered, needs to be pushed back to at least 31 March 2021,” said VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym.
In response to the Coronavirus situation, the Federal Government has increased the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000. However, currently the new criterion is set to remain in place only until 30 June 2020 – the deadline leaving both consumers and industry at a dead end.
“The reality is that many consumers are not going to be able to collect their vehicles by the nominated delivery deadline in June. The vehicles just won’t be there to pick up. It was the right move to increase thresholds, but the cut-off date must be revised in order to properly and practically support consumers and business,” said Mr Gwilym.
The Chamber has cited numerous examples of automotive business owners under stress trying to meet consumer needs, with farm machinery dealers taking orders for machinery that hasn’t yet left the country of manufacture and is not set to arrive until well into the second half of the year.
“The automotive industry is trying to get back to business as normal, and it needs time to deliver. At this point, Isuzu single-cab Ute availability is looking more like October, Ford has stock sitting on the docks that has been there a month, and that’s just to name a few,” Mr Gwilym said.
The Chamber is calling on the government to act in the best interest of the Australian economy and extend the delivery date. With production lines having been brought to a virtual standstill in recent months, as many car manufacturers were forced to close, stock deliveries have been delayed – a consequence of a global pandemic and not something for which consumers and businesses should be penalised.