ISLAMABAD: Pakistan\u2019s trade with Afghanistan and Iran has come to a standstill as a large number of containers pile up at the border stations in Balochistan for want of import form (I-form).
\nContainers have begun to accumulate at the customs stations of Taftan (at Iran border) and Chaman (at Afghan border) after the implementation of the form from Sept 1.
\nThe State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made it mandatory that no goods declaration will be allowed for import unless an I-form, duly approved by the commercial banks, is attached with it.
\nThe decision mostly affected trade in fresh fruit, vegetables and other perishable products.
\nHowever, an official said the customs collectorate has allowed clearance of perishable products after guarantees from traders. \u201cBut this is not a permanent solution,\u201d he added.
\nTraders in Balochistan have urged the federal government to consider their genuine problems. The Chaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry has written a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar asking him to review the decision, especially keeping in view the prevailing condition in the province.
\nBalochistan mostly lacked an industrial base and relied on imports from Afghanistan and Iran, the said.
\n\u201cNo SWIFT code has been allocated to commercial banks in Afghanistan. Hence, business with Afghanistan cannot take place through normal banking channel. Either it has to be in barter mode or it has to be routed from some third country,\u201d said the letter, a copy of which is available with .
\nIn the wake of introduction of the I-form, the requirement of a SWIFT code of the commercial banks of exporting country Afghanistan is mandatory. As no such code has been allotted to banks in Afghanistan, imports from that country have come to a standstill.
\nThe chamber demands exemption for the area until the establishment of banking channels.
\nBefore this decision, the Chaman border remained closed for two weeks due to which traders of perishable products suffered heavy losses.
\nThe problems faced by Baloch\u00adistan traders after the I-form\u2019s introduction were also mentioned in a letter of Quetta\u2019s customs collectorate which was sent to Karachi customs house for taking up with the SBP.
\nTraders believed that the form has been introduced without considering the ground realities of the province.
\nPakistan and Iran had no formal banking relations during the decades-old economic sanctions on Tehran. The mode of trade between the two countries remained barter trade or other informal channels. Even after lifting of international sanctions, banking channels with Iran have yet to be established.
\nMajor imports from Afghanistan are fresh fruits and vegetables. Traditionally, the orchards of fruits in Afghanistan are bought many months in advance by the Pakistani importers, most of whom operate on a seasonal basis.
\nPakistan has waived off the export form for export of perishable goods to Afghanistan.
\nAccording to the customs letter, the banks in Qandahar and Herat and some other Afghan cities have not been fully developed which hindered transfer of money through official channels.
\nMoreover, the traders and clearing agents in Chaman and Taftan are technically not on a par with the rest of the country. There are also issues of capacity like internet connectivity, infrastructure, training and education in these areas.
\nPakistan\u2019s counsel general in Qandahar has also raised the issue with Pakistani customs authorities that the introduction of I-form has hit hard Afghani exporters of fresh fruit and hundreds of vehicles have been stranded on the other side of the border.
\nNational Bank of Pakistan\u2019s branch in Chaman is also facing difficulty to process I-form due to lack of training.
\nThe customs authorities feared that the decision, if not reviewed, might discourage legal trade and traders may resort to smuggling as border remains largely porous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan\u2019s trade with Afghanistan and Iran has come to a standstill as a large number of containers pile up at the border stations in Balochistan for want of import form (I-form). Containers have begun to accumulate at the customs stations of Taftan (at Iran border) and Chaman (at Afghan border) after the implementation of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n