As Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan saw a deeper drop since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, the government on Tuesday took a major decision to allow trade of all products to Kabul in the rupee via land routes owing to the non-availability of tradable currency through banking channels. The change in trade regime from dollar to rupee is considered to be one of the steps to reverse the downward trend in the coming months.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved a summary of the commerce ministry amending the Import Policy Order (IPO) to allow trade with Afghanistan in rupees for a period of one year. It is believed the regime will remain in place until the restoration of regular banking channels in Afghanistan. The ECC approved amended paragraph 3(1) of the IPO 2022 to allow the import of goods of Afghan origin against the rupee and without the requirement of Electronic Import Form (EIF) forms for a period of one year, subject to the condition that Afghan exporters will provide a Certificate of Origin issued by Afghan Customs proving that the goods have originated from Afghanistan.