The Ministry of Finance on Monday asked for documents on claims made by Herat governor Sayed Waheed Qatali over tax evasion by at least 5,000 trucks that entered the country through Herat without paying customs duties for more than a year.
In a rare move, Qatali told a press conference on Sunday that millions of dollars have gone to the mafia because of the customs tax evasion.
“Send me to the Attorney General’s office if more than 4,000 vehicles were not missing (from the customs registration) in the last solar year 1398,” Qatali said. “Send me to the Attorney General’s office if more than 1,500 vehicles were not missing (from the customs registration) since the beginning of this year (since March 2019)… These vehicles were not registered in any (data) book.”
He added: “They (strongmen and mafia) have the task to take the dollars out of the country… They have not built any house in this city (Herat).”
The Ministry of Finance responded:
“We will be happy if he (the governor) provides evidence on the figures he has given because the data provided is high. In this data, the Herat customs trade and transit has been calculated very high, which is not understandable for us,” said Shamroz Khan Masjidi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance.
Meanwhile, a number of low-ranking Herat customs officials at an event on Monday claimed they are being threatened by strongmen and mafia groups, leaving no option for them but to pass customs documents without receiving duties.
“There is no unloading (of vehicles). There is no facility for this,” said Abdullah, a customs department official in Herat.
Abdullah said he checked such trucks two times to match the number plate vehicles with their documents, but he was “threatened”, and he was “kidnapped” a day after receiving a threat.
“Herat customs has already sent a letter to the NDS about fake documents,” another official, Hakimi, said. “This again is something by the mafia.”
This comes as the Herat governor on Sunday said 90% of Herat customs is lost to mafia-led fraud in the province, who also operate in the Kabul and Islam Qala customs.
According to the Herat governor, recently dozens of vehicles carrying goods were stopped by security forces in Herat but all of them entered the province without paying customs duties.
The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, also called MEC, in a report on June 29 found alleged interference by government officials, MPs and “warlords” in the activities of the two departments and says they have provided conditions for corruption in the two offices.
The report said there is a difference in numbers provided by officials and exporter countries on exports and imports between Afghanistan and other nations. For instance, the report says, the UAE’s data on imports and exports with Afghanistan was 14 times more than the figures provide by the revenue and customs departments. This is due to improper implementation of mutual agreements and memoranda of understanding.