Pakistan to Levy Import Tax on Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit Trade

According to a report on May 7, 2010 from Pakistan's the News, in order to curb smuggling in Pakistan-Afghanistan transit trade, the Pakistan Government plans to levy an advance tariff on imported goods under the Afghanistan Transit Trade (ATT), with the tariff to be refunded at the exit of the goods to Afghanistan.

It is reported that according to the ATT agreement, imports destined for Afghanistan are exempt from tariff in Pakistan. However, in recent years, there appeared rampant smuggling activities taking advantage of the agreement. Officers from the Pakistan Customs claimed that the total amount of the smuggled is around USD 4.0-4.5 billion each year, mainly including black tea, tires, electronic equipments, kitchen utensils, household appliances, and so on. The quantity of these goods imported to Pakistan is far beyond the actual needs of Afghanistan. Most of the goods are not transitted to Afghanistan, but remain in Pakistani territory or smuggled back to Pakistan after their export, leaving a severe impact on the local market and causing a huge loss in tariff.