Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) said that the import of tea under the garb of Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) has severely affected the legal importers of tea in the country. Chairman of the Association, Muhammad Hanif Janoo during a meeting with the President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), Anjum Nisar has urged him to take up this matter with higher authorities to save the legal importers.
Chairman PTA was leading a delegation, which expressed apprehensions about the import of tea via Afghan Transit Trade.Tea importers informed KCCI president that legal tea business was facing downward trend due to illegal import of tea from smuggling channel.
"Every day hundreds of tea-bags which are imported under ATT, arrive in Quetta, from Afghanistan which make their way to Karachi and Sindh region. Afghan Transit Trade has severely damaged the legal import of tea", tea traders said.
They urged the government to either abolish custom duty and sales tax on tea import to discourage the smuggling of tea or impose equal custom duty on Afghanistan-bound and Pakistan-bound tea arriving at the Ports of Karachi.
They pointed out that there are 65 percent Afghans-bound cargo in every vessel which never reaches Afghanistan and sold in the various markets of Pakistan. Anjum Nisar, assured the delegation that KCCI would always support their suggestions for onward submission to the concerned government departments.