QUETTA: The Balochistan Customs collected Rs99.7 billion in customs duty during the fiscal year 2021-2022 in the province.

In a report issued on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Quetta Customs said the department had collected Rs18.2bn against the FBR’s assigned target of Rs22.9bn. He attributed the shortfall to security challenges in the province. The major reason for the less collection of customs duty was closure of the Chaman border due to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and subsequent political uncertainties across the border.

The spokesman said the border closure happened at the peak time of seasonal import of fruits like pomegranates, grapes, apples, melons, etc which were a major source of customs duty collection. Disruption and diversion of trade during the period resulted in major revenue loss to the collectorate of customs, the report said.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2022