KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): Officials of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of southeastern Khost province say their revenue collection in the last six months was equal to the amount collected during the past 18 years.
In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Nawab Amirzai, the head of the chamber, said the revenue was collected from commercial goods exported to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of Pakistan through Ghulam Khan Port.
He said that they had collected about 10 million afghanis from exports, which was equal to the agency’s revenue collected in the past 18 years.
“We have transferred up to 10 million afghanis to the treasury from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry”.
Amirzai said that despite there had been no significant increase in exports, the creation of transparency in the customs system was one of the reasons for the increase in revenue.
All goods exported abroad must have a certificate from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but over the past 18 years, most commercial goods, especially coal, were exported to Pakistan without legal documents through Ghulam Khan Port, he said.
He said that the opportunity for exports was high more than ever and trade will grow even faster if the country’s domestic banking system met international standards.
Amirzai asked central government officials to work on removing restrictions on the banking system and develop its capabilities to international standards.
“The changes which have been made are that corruption has been eliminated, there is zero extortion on roads,” he said.
He added that the country’s economy will compete with regional countries if transparency in government organs was ensured and traders were provided with needed facilities.
He also asked the government to discuss the official transit of Ghulam Khan Port with Pakistani officials so that traders from Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as Central Asian countries could benefit from the route.
mds/ma
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