More than 62b afghanis collected in revenue: MoF

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has reported a decrease of 70 percent in trade and a 10percent drop in the country’s revenue this year. Corruption in ministry is also said to be on the wane.

10pc decrease in revenue

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, MoF spokesman Ahmad Wali Haqmal said more than 62.1 billion afghanis had been collected from January to December 5, falling from over 73.6 billion in the previous fiscal.

Haqmal said if statistics for the two years were compared, a 10 percent decrease could be seen in revenue for the current fiscal.

He added since 15 days were still left in the current fiscal, the revenue level could exceed 62 billion afghanis.

The official linked the fall in revenue this year to recent political changes, freezing of Afghanistan’s assets by the United States and shrinking trade.

70pc reduction in trade

The spokesman said the volume of trade declined by nearly 70 percent compared to the previous year. However, he explained, efforts were ongoing to boost the trade level.

If the trade level had not slipped, the revenue figure for the current fiscal would have been much higher than last year; he believed.

In recent years, trade had been high but the revenue had not been impressive due to widespread corruption, the MoF spokesman explained.

Graft in customs being eradicated

Haqmal called fighting corruption a priority for the ministry. “There was a lot of corruption in the Customs Department. Even former officials acknowledge at least $8 million are embezzled in customs on a daily basis.”

He claimed: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is paying special attention to combating corruption. We have made changes in the Customs leadership and have appointed experienced and committed people.”

In the past, he recalled, traders under-invoiced exports and imports to avoid paying full taxes. As a result, the income level drastically fell, he maintained.

An investigation by Pajhwok Afghan News in 2017 showed that, on average, about 15,000 taxpayers did not pay taxes annually. Unpaid taxes were estimated at about 17 billion afghanis a year.

"We have found the same causes of corruption and have eliminated them. Now we can say for sure that there is no corruption in the Customs Department. Every single afghani goes to the treasury," Haqmal insisted.

sa/mud