LAHORE: The Afghan government has reduced import tax on Pakistani kinno from Rs1.3 million to Rs0.5m per container, a Commerce Ministry official said on Thursday.

The issue had been taken up with the Afghan government after it was raised by kinno exporters, particularly members of the Sargodha Chambers of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), the official said.

Kabul agreed to cut the levy by over 60 per cent, he added.

SCCI president Shoaib Ahmad Basra hoped that kinno export to Afghanistan will cross the 100,000 tonnes mark earning foreign exchange for the national exchequer and boosting agricultural economy.

Last season, kinno exports to Afghanistan remained at 85,000 tonnes.

There was a nominal import tax on kinno imports in Afghanistan before the Ashraf Ghani government imposed Rs3.5 per kg levy on it last season.

The Taliban government exorbitantly raised the tax to Rs33 per kg or Rs1.3m per container.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2021