ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: The government has decided to exclude vegetable ghee, cigars, shampoo, RT silk fibre, razor blade, capacitors and video cassette from the negative list under the Afghan Transit Trade while rejecting the CBR request for removal of three electronic items — refrigerators, air-conditioners and television from this list.

Informed sources told Dawn the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet would finalize the new exclusions in its next meeting.

The Central Board of Revenue on the direction of the ministry of commerce had suggested six items to the government to be excluded from the ATT negative list.

Of these six items, the ministry of industries and production was opposing the exclusion of three items — refrigerators, air-conditioners, televisions and its parts — from the negative list, fearing that these items would be smuggled back into the country causing considerable harm to the local industry.

The industries ministry and stakeholders said unless an assurance is obtained from the Afghan government that these items are for the exclusive use in Afghanistan, the government should not exclude them from the negative list.

The removal of these items from the negative list would be notified during the next Pakistan-Afghan Joint Ministerial Commission scheduled to be held in December.

According to the sources, the exclusion of remaining items, which were less prone to smuggling, would be from the list to be announced in the next phase.

The sources said that it was clear from the statistics that following the imposition of ban in the year 1996-97 on most of the electronic goods under the ATT scheme, the production of locally manufactured, assembled air-conditioners, deep-freezers, television and refrigerators had registered a massive growth.

The statistics showed that the local production of refrigerators in 1996-97 was 168,000 units and that of television 72,573 sets. The local production of refrigerators soared to 250,000 units in the year 2001-02 and that of television to 450,000 sets.

On the request of the Afghan government, Pakistan had recently excluded eight items from the negative list. At present only 16 items are on the negative list, most of which are prone to smuggling back into Pakistan.

The major items of transit trade are sugar, plastic goods, blankets, heaters, padlocks, battery cells, pencils and lighters.