5-year tax exemption for investors building cold storage facilities

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs has announced a five-year tax exemption to any firm or individual investing in the construction of cold storage facilities in Afghanistan.

During a meeting of the Economic Commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a proposal for construction of a cold storage facility and factory on land owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MoAIL) in the capital of southern Ghazni province was approved, the deputy premier’s office wrote on its X handle.

 “Afghanistan is an agricultural country, but the lack of cold storage facilities, coupled with seasonal tariffs imposed by neighbouring countries on agricultural products and trade route closures, has inflicted financial losses on the national economy, agricultural produce and farmers,” the statement noted.

To address these challenges, the office said, any company or individual investing in the construction of cold storage facilities would receive a five-year tax exemption.

Earlier, the Afghanistan Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock had reported that nearly 30 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables in the country perish each year due to the lack of standard cold storage and the closure of export routes.

kk/ma