The collection of road toll charges and other fees on trucks was transferred to the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday following an amendment to the land transportation law, aimed at bringing reform to the process in which drivers were charged additionally for crossing from one province to another, a senior government official confirmed.

The process was run by the Ministry of Transportation before this amendment, according to Mohammad Yama Shams, the acting minister of transportation, who said that based on the new decision, the road transport charges and taxes will be collected through an online system.

According to him, the new system will be implemented in 281 local ports that connect one province or district to another.

Previously, truck drivers were complaining about additional charges for road transport and additional fines for overloading their vehicles. But the new system, according to officials, will address these issues and will fine the transportation companies for overloading instead of the truck drivers.

“This will increase the revenue,” Shams said, adding that it will also prevent the extortion of “strongmen."

The sector was not managed because of “extortion by a transportation mafia” and influence by “strongmen and government officials.”

Regarding the fate of the 600 employees in the income department of the MoT, Shams said: “Some people were appointed by recommendations, like customs posts. Some of them say now they want to leave their jobs.”

“In Afghanistan, vehicles are connected to certain people. The government should control their employees,” said Tala Mohammad Atmanzai, head of the council of transportation companies.

Figures by the Ministry of Transportation show that the ministry had an Afs2 billion annual income from the transportation taxes on trucks, while, after the reforms, the income will be increased to Afs5 billion.