LAHORE: The Pakistan Customs has said that the uncertain political situation in Afghanistan may hamper border trade and adversely impact the collection of duty and taxes.
The Pakistan Customs, in a report presented an outlook for the ongoing fiscal year 2021/22 and said that the revenue collection at the border crossing area with Afghanistan might be negatively impacted because of “uncertain political situation in the adjoining border areas of Afghanistan”.
The neighbouring country is facing a war-like situation after the exit of the US and allied forces from the country. The Taliban have captured most of the key areas in Afghanistan and are also advancing towards bordering areas with Pakistan.
The Peshawar Collectorate also highlighted the revenue collection would also be negatively impacted due to the downward revision of values of goods.
The Collectorate has the jurisdiction over the entry and exit points on the border areas with Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the collectorate posted 108 per cent growth in the collection of Customs duty in the fiscal year 2020/21. It collected Rs11.90 billion as Customs duty during July–June 2020/21, compared with the assigned target of Rs5.9 billion.
Similarly, Rs35.50 billion has been collected as the total duty/taxes, registering a growth of 64.85 per cent, compared with its last year’s collection.
In its outlook for the present fiscal year, the Collectorate said gradual increase in imports and exports clearances reflected that the trade activity is recuperating from the pandemic odds. However, the trends show that dutiable imports will not grow in proportion to the total imports volume, as cotton imports, which are duty-free and are likely to surge in the coming year due to the unprecedented demand from the textile industry.
