KHYBER
The custom officials refused to clear Tajiki grapes as Afghanistan commodity, imported via the Torkham border.
Custom superintendent import terminal, Torkham said on Sunday that green grapes was an agrarian product of Afghanistan with least import duty while red grapes were production of Tajikistan and its import duty was double compared with Afghani ones.
How can they clear Tajiki grapes in Afghanistan one, he questioned and urged the clearance agents to clear the imported perishable item by depositing legal import duty on it.
On the other hand the clearance agents flayed the custom officials for creating hurdles to suffer their business and said on the pretext of Tajiki and Afghani grapes, they stopped grape import at the Torkham crossing.
A protest demonstration of clearing agents and traders held in the import terminal, Torkham.
Shah Jehan Shinwari and Kharej Khan, local clearance agents said that they had proper and original certificates of the grapes and were ready for examination; however the custom official declared it Tajikistan grapes.
Grapes imported via the Torkham border were the yield of Afghanistan and literally it was the domain of the plant protection department to declare it Tajiki or Afghani grapes and not the custom, they remarked.
They demanded the custom, Torkham, to clear the imported grapes as Afghanistan production before it decayed.
