The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) on Saturday said there is a 10 percent difference between the volume of imports recorded at Afghanistan’s customs and the volume in the original documentation of the imports.

The MEC officials said the country's imports from the United Arab Emirate (UAE) last year were ten times lower than the Afghan customs records.

Meanwhile, officials at the International Chamber of Commerce have said that with the rise in corruption at customs of the country, the level of smuggling by customs’ employees has also increased, which is a major threat to national revenue.

“There is a big difference between the statistics which exist in our customs and the customs of the exporting nations,” said Maiwand Rouhani, head of MEC’s secretariat.

“There are lots of problems, the difference in our statistics and the statistics of the exporters indicates major embezzlement of revenues at customs,” said Abdul Qadir Bahman, the head of International Chamber of Commerce.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) meanwhile confirmed smuggling through customs, but said that the lack of security and equipment have increased the chance for smuggling of goods and products at borders of the country.

“In the view of the security threats in some parts of the country, the possibility of smuggling exists there,” said Jawad Dabir, the head of media department of Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

According to the Afghan government, the overall value of Afghanistan’s imports is estimated to be $7 billion annually, but unconfirmed data estimates the figure to be $15 billion per year.