Daily Times

Businessmen and traders of North and South Waziristan tribal districts have denounced the Customs Department for levying “unprecedented duty” on pine nuts (chilghoza).

They said that the Customs Department had levied Rs 800 per kilogramme tax on import of pine nuts from Afghanistan via Ghulam Khan or Torkham borders.

“This is totally unjust and officials concerned are trampling the established law,” a trader who was reached by phone from Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan tribal region, said.

“The people of the two Waziristan straddling the Pak-Afghan border mainly do pine nuts business and they have been paying Rs 70 per maund tax for years,” said Malik Naik Amal, a local pine nuts trader.

He said that officials of Custom Department had levied Rs 45,000 tax instead of Rs 70.

Traders, he said, have around 20 million maunds of pine nuts in stock but they do not want to bring it to Pakistan through Ghulam Khan or Torkham because of taxes.

He said that the business of pine nuts would be devastated due to the alleged apathy of government and non-serious approach of the Customs Department.

“All pine nuts traders are in disarray and are planning to either stage protests or start exporting pine nuts to China through Kabul,” he added.

“We will export pine nuts worth over Rs 30 billion to China if Customs officials fail to review their policy regarding heavy taxes,” he warned.

Earlier, traders in South Waziristan tribal region had repeatedly complained that they were facing problems while supplying pine nuts, fruits and vegetables to markets within the country because the local administration had created problems for them at several check points.

Ali Wazir, Member National Assembly (MNA) from South Waziristan, formally inaugurated the Wana Agri Park last week to formally begin the processing and preservation of pine nuts, vegetables and fruits.

Published in Daily Times, November  12^th 2018.