Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In yet another instance of the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan’s improving relations with India—to the chagrin of Pakistan!—Kabul has offered a five-year tax exemption to Indian investors in gold mining and other new sectors.
Afghanistan will charge only 1 percent tariff if Indian firms import machinery for investment, the media reported on Monday.
Seeking investments in a range of sectors, Afghanistan’s Industry and Commerce Minister Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi on Monday said his government is ready to offer five years of tax breaks to Indian firms investing in new sectors, including gold mining.
The Afghanistan minister is currently on a six-day visit to India.
Speaking at an interactive session organised by the business chamber Assocham, Azizi said tensions with Pakistan are creating hurdles in trade.
“There is a huge potential available in Afghanistan. You will not even find a lot of competitors. You will also receive tariff support, and we will be able to give you land. The five-year tax exemption will be given to companies who may be interested to invest in new sectors,” he said.
“Gold mining will definitely require the technical and professional team or professional companies. So, initially, we are requesting that you send your team, they can do the research, they can do the exploration initially, and then they can start work.
“However, the condition is that we will expect it to be processed in the country so jobs can be created,” the minister said.
Azizi urged the Indian side to remove “minor” hurdles to boost bilateral trade.
“We want to rebuild the relationship between India and Afghanistan. There are some minor hurdles which really affect the overall process, like visa, air corridor, banking transactions. So, these have to be sorted out to improve bilateral trade and investment,” he said in the presence of Indian government officials.