Pakistan Imposes New 2% Tax on Afghan Transit Goods

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment reports that Pakistan has imposed a 2% tax on transit goods destined for Afghanistan.

A representative from the chamber told TOLOnews that transit from the Karachi port to Afghanistan has dropped by nearly 75% due to Pakistan’s restrictions.

Khan Jan Alokozay, a board member of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “They have made another decision to impose a 2% tariff on all transit goods coming from around the world to Afghanistan. This move has no precedent in global trade law. I believe if this continues, our trade—already cut by 60% to 75%—will decline even further.”

Afghanistan trades with countries like China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and several others through the Karachi port.
Some Afghan traders see Pakistan’s imposition of tariffs on transit goods as a violation of international trade norms and urge the Islamic Emirate to resolve this issue through dialogue.

Abdul Ghafoor Naseri, head of the Kabul Fruit and Vegetable Union, told TOLOnews, “Pakistan previously charged us 30,000 rupees per shipment along the way, plus an additional 11,000 rupees, totaling 41,000 rupees. Unfortunately, this amount has now risen, with charges increasing from 100,000 to 144,000 Pakistani rupees.”

Ramazan Mansouri, a trader, noted: “Pakistan has imposed a 2% tariff on goods from India as well. In addition to transit fees and other expenses we already pay to Pakistan, they have now imposed a tariff on our export goods, which is a severe blow to our traders and farmers.”

Last year, Pakistan also detained over 4,000 containers of Afghanistan’s transit goods at Karachi port, causing Afghan traders millions of dollars in losses.