The Ministry of Commerce has handed over the draft of the new Afghan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) to the Federal Board of Revenue for reviewing the Customs related protocols under the proposed agreement. A senior FBR official told Business Recorder here on Friday that Federal Secretary Ministry of Commerce Zafar Mehmood has recently visited the FBR to hand over the final draft of the APTTA to the tax authorities for review.
The FBR has forwarded the draft of the APTTA to the FBR committee comprising senior customs officials. The FBR committee would do clause by clause reading of the agreement and submit its report to the FBR. Official said the draft has been received from the Commerce Ministry, which would be thoroughly reviewed by the FBR committee on the APTTA. The committee would also analyse the legal aspects particularly customs related new provisions to be introduced in the APTTA.
The new APTTA would give legal backing to Pakistan's trade with Central Asian Republics (CARs) as well as transit right to Pakistani trucks carrying goods to CARs. Only those Afghan trucks, which would carry Afghan exports goods to Pakistan's ports, would be permitted to carry goods imported under new Transit trade agreement.
Following formal signing of APTTA, Pakistani exporters would have legal cover to transit of goods through land route of Afghanistan. This legal right of transit would be available to our exporters and trucks to pass through Afghan territory. The new APTTA would ensure that the goods imported under transit trade agreement must reach Afghanistan after leaving Pakistani ports.
The proposed transit agreement would allow for first three years the Afghanistan to transport their goods from Pakistani ports to their destinations through open trucks but following the international sealing standards. After three years, all Afghan imports would be through containerised trucks which would completely phase out transportation through open trucking system.
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