Pakistan bans export of 212 items to Afghanistan under the Transit Trade Agreement

Pakistan has banned the export of 212 items to Afghanistan under the Transit Trade Agreement!

The Ministry of Commerce on Thursday issued an SRO (Statutory Regulatory Order) in this regard.

As per the SRO, restrictions have been imposed on various types of items, including 17 types of fabrics, tires for all types of vehicles, tea leaves, cosmetics, and various types of toilet articles.

Furthermore, items including nuts, dried and fresh fruits, fridges, refrigerators, air conditioners, juicers, and mixers will also not be allowed to be sent to Afghanistan.

According to the sources, the transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has had profound and negative effects on Pakistan’s economy, with Afghan authorities making inaccurate statements about the prices of items related to transit trade.

As a result, a significant difference has emerged between reported and actual values of goods.

Subsequently, these items are illegally entering Pakistan, resulting in a 67% increase in Afghan income from transit trade.

The value of these items illegally entering Pakistan reached up to $6.71 billion in February 2022-23.

Last year, an estimated $4 billion worth of goods illegally entered Pakistan.

Earlier, Pakistan also announced the imposition of a 10 percent processing fee on a range of items imported from Afghanistan under a transit trade agreement.

The development comes in a move widely seen as an effort to curb the illegal entry of goods into Pakistan from its neighboring state.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 18D of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), the Federal Government is pleased to impose processing fee at the rate of 10 percent ad valorem on the following Afghan transit Commercial goods imported into Afghanistan in transit via Pakistan,” customs department notified.