In a letter to Republica on Monday, the dealer has said that the mysterious lingering in releasing customs clearance documents even after clearing all outstanding payments to the bank has been the principal reason for the delay in delivering the vehicles to the customers. [break]
As we are committed to fulfilling all our obligations of delivering the ordered vehicles to customers despite the difficulties we are facing, we request them to give us a reasonable time as the issue is being investigated by concerned authorities, said the letter.
Republica had reported on non-delivery of cars by Avco to almost 167 customers who had made partial or full payment ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 700,000. However, the company has claimed that it is yet to deliver 110 cars for which the bookings have been made.
The statement has also claimed that 90 vehicles are lying at Birgunj border awaiting customs clearance for which payment has been made to the bank since last five months. Despite repeated requests and negotiations with the bank, the bank has not yet released the documents for unknown reasons, said the letter.
Further, Avco stated that the bank violating prevailing banking norms has even let LC for 183 cars, which was opened in January, expire by not making minor amendment despite repeated verbal and written requests.
AVCO has also claimed that the bank has fraudulently debited the account of Avco worth millions of rupees for transactions without the knowledge of the company and has yet to give clarification on this matter.
These irregularities on the part of the bank, AVCO suspects, are due to fierce competition in the market with a second dealer of Hyundai in which one of the bank promoter has shares.
Avco has recently lodged complaint at the Nepal Rastra Bank and District Administration Office seeking assistance to immediately resolve the issue with the bank in order to deliver the cars and for transfer of ownerships.
Furthermore, Avco has also informed that it has already placed more orders with the manufacturer to address the delivery issue and have started refunding those customers who are unwilling to wait.
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