ISLAMABAD: Double rates of import and export duties are main hurdle in the promotion of trade activities with both Afghanistan and Iran.
This situation is tantamount to transferring the 75 percent share of Afghan business to Iranian Chabahar Port from Karachi Port as at present only 25 percent of Afghan trade operation is being carried out through Pakistan. These impediments are also reducing the revenue collections both from imports and exports.
These revelations were made in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce. The top hierarchy of the Ministry of Commerce was of the view that reduced volume of exports was only due to different rates of export and import duties being charged from the exporters and importers who trade with Afghanistan and Iran.
In a bid to resolve these impediments, Committee decided to hold a joint meeting along with Senate Standing Committee on Finance with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on the issue of different rates of imports and exports to Iran and Afghanistan and other issues related to FBR.
When asked about the details of issues of Ministry of Commerce with FBR, Chairman Committee Shibli Faraz told Customs Today that FBR had been invited to clear the position before the committee in the next meeting on this specific issue.
However, we will also take up the issue of delayed payment of sales tax refunds, rebate and other rewards to the exporters with the FBR in the next meeting. In this regard, we have requested the FBR to come up with all required data regarding the different rates of import and export duty” he added.
Later, Secretary Commerce Azmat Ali Ranjha, apprised this scribe separately that FBR related issues were causing much fuss to the exporters because delayed payment of sales tax refunds and rebates were main matters of grave concern for exporters.
Similarly, he observed that non provision of required facilities along with infrastructure at three more trading points on border with Afghanistan was also proving problematic in operationalization of those entry points.
“This factor is also contributing to the reduced revenue collection out of import and export duties from the said check points” he maintained.
