Karachi: Business bodies including Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and All Pakistan Textile Mills Limited (APTMA) lauded caretaker government for its measures against smuggling via neighbouring Afghanistan.

Taking to social media platform X PBC expressed its delight amid “Concrete measures” taken by interim government “To thwart misuse of Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) to smuggle items like fabrics, cosmetics, tyres, black tea, nuts, flasks, home appliances to Pakistan”.

“Not only was this hurting formal sector, including employment in manufacturing industry, it was also denying much-needed duties and taxes,” said PBC, country’s largest corporate sector advocacy platform.

Federal Board of Revenue imposed 10 percent processing fee on five major categories of Afghan transit commercial goods covering confectionaries/chocolates, footwear, machinery (mechanical/electrical), blankets/home textiles and garments imported into Afghanistan in transit via Pakistan.

Meanwhile, APTMA expressed similar views, saying that government measures will help save precious foreign exchange reserves. “Measures taken to control misuse of Afghan Transit Trade will yield lasting benefits, save foreign exchange and boost domestic industry whose potential has been shrunk in past due to smuggling and misuse of ATT,” it said. “We laud efforts of Ministry of Commerce for taking bold measures, necessary for strengthening our economy,” it added.

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 05 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.