ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: The government of Afghanistan has requested Islamabad for removing all goods from the negative list of the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATT).
Well-placed sources told Dawn on Monday that following the request, the Ministry of Commerce had sent the proposal to all the relevant stakeholders, seeking their comments and suggestions on it.
At present the government has placed 24 items in negative list of transit trade to Afghanistan to prevent the facility of ATT from being misused.
The sources said that decision to this effect might be announced following the receipts of comments and suggestions from the stakeholders.
According to the sources, the issue would also be taken up at the high-level seminar on anti-smuggling scheduled for August 8 to discuss the pros and cons of the proposal.
Commenting on the proposal, the sources said that in case all the items were removed from the negative list the major setback would be to the local productions of the electronic goods.
Following the prohibiting of 17 items in 1996, sources said, the local production of refrigerators soared to 250,000 units in 2001-02 from 168,000 units in 1996; and production of television increased to 450,000 sets in 2001-02 from 72,573 sets in 1996.
The ATT was believed a major source of smuggling into Pakistan through the porous boarders between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Explaining further, the sources said that following the prohibiting of 17 items in 1996, the ATT trade value declined by 50 per cent to Rs4.113bn in 1995-96 against Rs8.138bn ATT value in 1994-95.
Out of total value of goods transited in 1994-95, the value of 17 items subsequently prohibited was Rs3.443 billion. Of these mainly Rs528.89m worth air-conditioners were imported under the ATT, Rs1.371 billion worth television sets and parts and black tea worth Rs635.21m were imported during the same year.
The government has further prohibited seven more items under the ATT in 2000-01. Following the decision, the total value of ATT stood at Rs12.751bn in 2000-01, out of which the total value of seven items prohibited in July 2001 was Rs1.283 billion.
Of these Rs305.92m worth telephone sets were imported under the ATT during the same year, Rs147.48m worth juicer/blender/ mixer, Rs433.61m worth VCR/VCP and Rs88.35m worth video cassettes imported during the same year.
The ATT is being conducted under the ATT agreement signed in 1965 between Pakistan and Afghanistan.