ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Advisor on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood is undertaking three-day visit from Monday (today) to Afghanistan to discuss new draft of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and bilateral trade agreement, official sources told Business Recorder.
The APTTA, sources said, which was signed on October 28, 2010 will expire on February 11, 2021.
In the past, several efforts were made by the PML (N) government, but no progress was made due to some of the unreasonable demands by Afghanistan including inclusion of India in the pact and allowing the latter to export its goods to Afghanistan by using Pakistani soil. Bilateral trade between both countries has also massively shrunk.
APTTA has replaced the old Afghanistan Transit Trade Agreement 1965. Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) is obligatory transport of cargo from/to Pakistan, Afghanistan under Article V of GATT1947, Convention on Transit Trade of land locked States 1965, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982.
The agreement was concluded keeping in view the best international practices and advances made in the fields of information technology, logistics and customs procedures.
As opposed to the previous agreement (ATTA1965), APTTA is based on complete reciprocity, access to Pakistani exports to Central Asian Republics (CARs) region through Afghanistan and formal arrangement in form of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA) to ensure effective implementation.
At a recent meeting between the parliamentarians of Afghanistan and Pakistan different issues relating to bilateral trade and transit trade came under discussion.
Issues taken up by Pakistan side were as follows: (i) Pakistani trucks must be allowed to move up-to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan border, similarly Afghan Trucks and vehicles should be allowed to move up-to Wagah Border and Karachi Sea Port; (ii) Afghanistan side provides only 5 days for transit shipment of CARs to cross its territory, after which 5000 AFG fine is charged per container per day. The practice should be done away with immediately as there are problems enroute that cause delays beyond 5 days; (iii) time limit for Pakistani trucks and cargo crossing Afghanistan and unloading on the border of Tajikistan should be increased from 5 days to 15 days; (iv) regular periodical meetings of APTTCA should be convened; (v) border facilitations on Afghan side of Torkham border must be undertaken immediately; (vi) Afghanistan needs to develop infrastructure on their side at crossing points in order to facilitate trade and transit; (vii) border facilitations on Afghan side of Torkham border must be undertaken immediately.
Afghanistan side raised the following issues; (i) improvement in services including additions of good transports companies, under customs supervision apart from bonded carriers be considered; (ii) apart from bonded carriers and the railways, the private trucks should be allowed under customs supervision to minimise the freight of ATT; (iii) Afghanistan will host 7th meeting of APTTCA to revise APTTA, in November 2020; (iv) cross stuffing must be allowed from shipping lines' containers to privately owned containers of transit trade practitioners; (v) Currently, there are two Afghan items on Pakistan's negative items list i.e. auto parts and cigarettes which should be removed from the negative list; (vii) immediate actions should be taken to allow partial shipments; (viii) customs valuations rates should be pre-notified on the bases of WTO rules; (ix) demurrage and containers detention charges should be waived off on containers that were stranded due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic; (x) shipping lines and port terminals must be bound to rationalise their charges; (xi) free days for detention should be increased to 40 days and demurrage to 15 days; (xii) 100 percent scanning may be reduced at exit points. Pak Customs informed that scanning at Karachi is 20 percent for ATT; (xiii) the number of scanners at borders should be increased; (ix) dedicated lane should be established at Karachi port to ease out transit trade between Pakistan-Afghanistan; (x) facilitation of the movement of goods via railway lines and investment in the development of Railway line for operations of transit cargos; (xi) in order to accelerate the process of transit cargo either one of procedure of physical examination or scanning should be done in case a cargo is physically examined so that should be exempted from scanning process; (xii) Chaman border must be operationalised 24/7; (xiii) mechanism should be in place for ensuring prevention of illegal extortions including private parking yard; (xiii) preference should be given to perishable goods: they must be cleared immediately upon arrival; (xiv) WeBOC should be fully integrated with ASYCUDA Afghanistan and full access should be given to Afghan traders; (xv) monopoly of TPL trackers should be finished; (xvi) insurance costs may be rationalised; (xvii) bonded carriers cartel must be finished and costs be rationalised and; (xvii) Afghan trucks be allowed to carry goods up-to Wagah.—MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
