Incentives sought for export of goods to Afghanistan and CARs

PESHAWAR: All Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Exporters Association has demanded the government to announce incentives for exporting goods to Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs) in Pak rupees along with establishing a legal channel to avoid complications and inquiries by law-enforcing agencies in receiving payments.

The demand was made at a meeting held at Landikotal city of the Khyber district with KP Exporters Association President Haji Jabir in the chair, said a press release.Others, who attended the meeting, included the Coordinator for the Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, PAJCCI Director, Imtiaz Ahmad Ali, General Secretary of KP Exporters Association, Ashfaq Shinwari, SVP Nisar Shinwari, VP Mujeeb Shinwari, Secretary of Legal Affairs, Amir Afridi, and others. The participants demanded to convert the trade of 16 items from PK rupee to US dollars because the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has a well-established setup for payment of rebates in US dollars and not in Pak rupees.

They said exporters were exporting these 16 items to Afghanistan and CARs in Pak currency and they were not given any rebate over this.The participants expressed concern over legal complications in receiving export proceeds declared in PK rupee at the time of Customs clearance.

They said in exports through the US dollar, the government pays a rebate and the same practice should be adopted in exports through PK rupee.The participants suggested that in the shape of rebate, the government should refund the general sales tax paid by exporters while purchasing goods for sending abroad.

Haji Jabir said during the last few years, the country had received a huge amount through export to Afghanistan and that was a significant contribution to the country’s foreign reserves by commercial exporters only from the KP region.

He said the business community would meet officials in the Ministry for Commerce and Industry for discussion over problems being faced in export of goods through PK rupee.The exporters’ body alleged that the banks were creating hindrances by seeking different documents over clearance of payments on export to CARs through the Taftan border of Balochistan, which, he said, was a legally established Customs port.

Haji Jabir stressed the SBP to take notice and issue directives to commercial banks to facilitate the business community dealing in export to Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics.He said goods exported to Afghanistan and CAR included rice, fresh fruit, seeds, maize, poultry feed, vegetables, etc.

Ziaul Haq Sarhadi stressed increased coordination between government officials and the business community for the removal of obstacles to regional trade on an early basis. He said increasing trade volume was the need of the hour for creating livelihood opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people in the country.

Sarhadi said in the prevailing scenario of economic stress and shrinking earning opportunities, the government needed to give serious consideration to increasing regional trade with a special focus on Pak-Afghan trade to create more jobs for people along with an increase in the country’s foreign reserves.