PESHAWAR: The Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) has welcomed recent amendments by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to multiple Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs), aimed at facilitating transit trade and strengthening commercial relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Senior Vice President of PAJCCI, praised the FBR’s move, stating that the revised regulations would reduce barriers for traders and enhance bilateral trade. One key change reintroduces the option of using Insurance Guarantees alongside Bank Guarantees for goods transported under the Afghan Transit Trade agreement.
The October 2023 decision had restricted traders to Bank Guarantees only, increasing financial pressure on the business community.
Sarhadi also noted revisions to the implementation of a 10 percent processing fee on selected goods under the Afghan Transit Trade. Several items have now been exempted from this duty, which is expected to have a positive impact on regional commerce.
Additionally, he highlighted changes to the ‘Negative List’ of around 200 restricted items, with many products now removed from the list, allowing for expanded trade.
“These are constructive steps that will benefit Pak-Afghan trade in the long term,” Sarhadi said, adding that previous restrictions had diverted much of the trade to Iranian ports like Chabahar and Bandar Abbas. He expressed optimism that Afghan traders would return to Pakistan’s ports following the latest regulatory adjustments.
Sarhadi urged further relaxation in trade conditions and called for improved border security to curb smuggling, rather than banning specific imports. He also pointed out the impact of Pakistan’s new repatriation policy, which has increased demand for goods in Afghanistan under the transit trade facility.
Criticising the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s imposition of a 0.2 percent Infrastructure Development Cess (IDC) on exports to Afghanistan, later reduced to 0.1 percent, Sarhadi said the levy had pushed trade towards Balochistan and caused significant job losses among KP residents involved in the Pak-Afghan trade.
