The Khayber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has imposed two percent sales tax on commercial goods imported by Afghan businessmen in violation to the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Agreement (APTA), according to some businessmen in eastern Nangarhar province on Sunday.
They said the two percent sales tax is an addition to several other problems they have been facing in trade relationships with Pakistan.
Businessmen have asked Afghan government to address the issue through diplomatic channels because before this move the import of commercial items was costly and the fresh sales tax would further increase the rates.
The Khyber Pakhtonkhwa government has decided to charge two percent sales tax on goods produced in Pakistan. Earlier, the two percent sales tax was charged on companies producing these goods.
Zalmai Azimi, the Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce and Investment (CCI), said that Pakistan has always created obstacles for Afghan traders in violation of the APTA agreement, and this latest decision by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was also against this agreement.
He said: “The law is that when Pakistan produces and sells goods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a two percent sales tax (sales tax) will be collected from the seller or manufacturer, but when Afghan traders bought the goods and reached Torkham, they changed the law so that this tax will be collected from Afghan traders.”
He said now besides other additional expenditures, one has to pay tow percent sales tax which is accounted for 12,000 PKR in 35 tonnes of sugar.
They said that government should address this issue through diplomatic channels.
Sifatullah Sahibzada, one of the businessmen, said that Afghan government should talk to Pakistani side and address trade related issues on permanent bases.
Pajhwok strive to get the viewpoint of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry but contact was not established despite several attempts.
APTA was signed in 2010 between the two countries to address most of trade and commerce related issues but most of the time Afghan businessmen accused Pakistan for violating the agreement.
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