Business

Chamber meets with IEA to resolve challenges, including tax issues

Published

2 years ago

February 9, 2022

(Last Updated On: February 9, 2022)

Afghanistan’s Chamber of Craftsmen and Shopkeepers (ACS) said Tuesday that they are facing several challenges in the country including the expectation of exorbitant taxes.

In a meeting with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and the ACS, the head of the chamber, Noorulhaq Omari called on the authorities to remove the challenges and work with investors and craftsmen to develop the sector.

Omari said if existing problems are not resolved, craftsmen will start evading tax and cease to operate in the country.

Other ACS members said that they cannot afford the taxes that have been imposed. They also urged the IEA to work with them to resolve their issues.

The Islamic Emirate, however, says that it has plans to sort out the problems – for small, medium and large businesses in the sector.

“The current tax [system], which has been in place for five years now, is not achievable in this current economic climate and will lead to tax evasion and a drop in activity,” said Omari.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the IEA’s spokesman, said substantial progress has been made in various fields in the last six months.

Mujahid said that all the energy used to end the war and the “occupation” by foreign troops will now be used “for the development of the country and the advancement of the economy and the country’s resources”.

Ministry of Finance officials meanwhile said they are looking at cutting tax for small businesses and craftsmen by more than 50 percent.

“We have offered you a discount of more than 50 percent. My request to you is not to count taxes as consumption. Tax is not consumption. This is an investment,” said Meraj Mohammad Meraj, Director General of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance.

The leadership of the Ministry of Economy also emphasized the need for people to support small businesses and craftsmen in the country.

“When there is no safe environment, people are worried, like you look at the last twenty years and the life that has passed,” said Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Acting of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

According to the ACS, 40 percent of the craftsmen lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and the lack of support from the previous government.

Business

Azizi calls on Malaysian investors to invest in Afghanistan

Published

4 days ago

April 24, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 24, 2024)

Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.

The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.

According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.

According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.

Business

Afghanistan starts exporting via railway to Turkey

Published

6 days ago

April 22, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 22, 2024)

The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.

In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”

The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.

According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.

Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.

As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.

This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.

Business

Afghanistan, Kazakhstan to hold joint expo in Kabul

Published

7 days ago

April 21, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 21, 2024)

A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.

Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.

“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”

According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.

Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.

During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.