Afghan Ministry of Finance shuts border markets to stop illegal imports

Kabul: The Afghan Ministry of Finance has shut down all markets in border areas to prevent the illegal import of commodities into the country, local media reported.

According to the Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines (ACIM), the closure of the border markets will put an end to the import of goods, especially commodities, illegally to Afghanistan, reported The Frontier Post, as cited by Tolo News. Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a finance ministry spokesperson also agreed to the decision of the MoF cabinet stating that some people were taking advantage of the border markets to import commodities illegally.
According to Frontier Post, the deputy head of the ACIM, Sakhi Ahmad Payman said that "The closure of the border markets is a good step and will benefit Afghanistan because previously commodities were imported illegally through these markets and there was no quality control on them."

But, on the contrary, a member of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) expressed his disappointment, saying that there were almost 400 people working in the markets and that the closure of these markets would cause further problems to the people residing in the bordering regions.
As per Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the ACCI, "These markets were established for the people living alongside borders because they cannot travel to cities to do shopping." The items in the border markets had no tax or tariff imposed upon them. (ANI)